


Return To Africa

by elflordsmistress



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/M, Post-Canon, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:47:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29022966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elflordsmistress/pseuds/elflordsmistress
Summary: A sequel to 'Tie A Yellow Ribbon'.
Relationships: Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg
Comments: 90
Kudos: 18





	1. The Request

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Babyphd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babyphd/gifts).



> Timeline:  
> June 2005: Leo has a heart attack and CJ becomes Chief of Staff.  
> July - October 2005: Events in Tie a Yellow Ribbon.  
> 8th November 2006: CJ comes to Danny’s apartment the day after Leo passes away and the relationship becomes established.  
> January 2007: CJ and Danny move to California at the start of the Santos Administration.  
> May 2008: Events in Return To Africa begin.
> 
> Both Margaret and Carol work for CJ at the Hollis Foundation.

_**Santa Monica, California** _

_**May 29th, 2008** _

Danny was sitting at the kitchen island when CJ came downstairs in search of him.

“ _Hey_ ,” she said as she dropped a kiss to the top of his head. “I didn’t hear you get out of bed.”

“You were dead to the world,” Danny replied as he swivelled the stool and pulled her onto his lap. “I’ve been up for a few hours.”

CJ eyed the clock on the wall.

"How early did you get up?”

“Two ..”

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“Something like that.”

“You should have woken me. I would have worn you out,” she said with a grin before she kissed him. “There’s still time, you know. It’s only five. I don’t have to leave for the office for another three hours and we cou - ..”

“CJ ..”

She pulled back and looked at him intently.

“There’s something on your mind ..”

“Yeah.” He ran his hands up and down her shoulder blades and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “I made coffee. Want some?”

“I’ll get it.”

“Okay.”

“What’s going on?” she asked as she returned with two steaming mugs and settled on the stool next to his.

“I got an email from Skye last night.”

“Last night?” 

She wracked her brain. Trying to think what time this might have been; pretty sure she hadn’t seen him touch his computer once between dinner and bedtime.

“Yeah.” 

He angled his computer towards her and a precursory glance showed a time stamp of 2AM.

She had no need to ask how he knew to check for an email at that time of night. She’d seen the manifestation of the sustained connection between them so many times she’d lost count at this point.

Skye was still struggling with the fallout from the experience in Somalia, and Danny had been there for her every step of the way. He had been upfront about his involvement in her therapy and the help she was getting, and CJ had been able to take it in her stride. 

The young photojournalist had become less of a physical presence in his life after they’d moved to California, but Danny's uncanny ability to sense incoming messages from her - no matter the time of day - was both unsettling and immeasurably touching.

They never discussed what he and Skye talked about, so the fact that he had lost sleep over what appeared to be just a few words was her first indication that this was making him anxious.

She took a sip of her coffee and read the words out loud.

“I’ve decided I want to do it! Are you in? Have you spoken to CJ?” She took another sip of her coffee before asking, “spoken to me about what?”

“She called two weeks ago to tell me that she’d been encouraged by her therapist to stage an exhibition. Using photos from our time in Somalia. Photos she took _before_ the ..”

CJ squeezed his hand as he trailed off.

Knowing the trailoff was more for her benefit than his.

“She wanted to know if I would partner with her on it, if she decided to do it. Help her pick the photos. Write the verbiage for the _big idea_ in the exhibition description, and then find a way to include that into each photo description so that there’s an .. I don't know .. overall sense of purpose in the visual narrative.”

“That makes sense.”

“I didn’t say yes. I said I would think about it.”

“Do you _want_ to do it?”

“I think it would be good for her.”

“Then you should do it.”

He hesitated over another sip of his coffee.

“She also asked whether you would consider hosting the exhibition at the Foundation.”

"Would you like that?"

"It would be simpler in terms of logistics."

“Then yes. Absolutely.”

“Thank you.”

He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it, then pushed gently back against her when she stood behind him and rubbed his shoulders.

“Wait till you see her work, CJ," he said as he tapped in his response. "It’s going to blow your mind.”

“How soon do you want to do this?”

“I’ll ask. My feeling is _soon_ , so that the stress about it doesn’t overshadow the excitement.”

“I’ll have Margaret check what the calendar looks like when I get to the office, and I’ll put Carol on press for it.”

“Great, thanks. Done!”

He shut his laptop, glanced at the clock, turned sharply, and pulled her between his knees.

“So all that talk about wearing me out .."

"Yes?"

"Is that invitation still open?” he asked, as stood and brushed a hip against her centre.

“It is ..” CJ sucked an earlobe into her mouth until he moaned, and then pressed a kiss to his mouth.

They were almost outside their bedroom door when she turned to him.

“Skye should stay with us.”

She could feel the hesitation in his " _really?_ "

"Yeah."


	2. Skye

_**Hollis Foundation Offices | CJ and Danny’s House** _   
_**Santa Monica, California** _   
_**Evening of June 23rd, 2008** _

“Danny?”

“Yeah. Hey! You on your way?”

“Leaving now.”

CJ was momentarily distracted by the laughter which drifted down the line at her.

“Danny?”

“Leaving now, gotcha. Skye’s cooking up a storm.”

When CJ pulled up to the house thirty minutes later she tried the garage opener for a while before she realized that it wasn’t going to work. She settled for leaving the car out front and made a mental note to let Danny know that something was wrong with it. 

“Hi!” she called as she let herself into the house.

There was no response.

Her kitchen looked as though someone had staged a demolition derby in it, but the smell of cumin, coriander, and cinnamon hanging in the air made her mouth water. 

Skye was standing at the stove; hair swept into a high ponytail, hips gyrating to the beat of ethnic music reverberating in the kitchen.

“ _Here_ , try it,” she was saying as she scooped something out of a pot and fed it to Danny on a spoon.

“Hi,” CJ said from the doorway.

“Hey!"

Danny shot her a happy smile and moved towards her.

“Taste this ..” he said as he kissed her.

She recognized the earthy, nuanced flavour of saffron as soon as he invaded her mouth.

“Good?”

“Mmmm. Hint of cardamom, too?” 

“That’s my girl ..” he said as he kissed her again. 

“Hi Skye ..”

“Hey CJ.”

Their guest seemed a little less exuberant than she’d been a few moments before, but she smiled back nonetheless.

"Ready to eat?"

Dinner tasted even better than it smelled, and CJ was content to eat in silence and observe the dynamic.

Skye slipped the backstory for every dish into the conversation effortlessly, but at some juncture in the narrative, CJ noticed that for every excitable “ _do you remember when .._ ” that left her mouth, there was a slight downplay from Danny.

Nothing mean-spirited. More like a slight course correction.

Mostly reminders about whoever else had been with them at the time.

Skye finally turned her attention to CJ at the end of the meal.

“So what do you think?” 

“That was amazing.”

“I was thinking we could serve some of it at the exhibition.”

“Oh .. the catering’s already been ordered.”

Danny grinned and looked at Skye.

“Told ya ..”

“I wanted to serve Somali food ..” 

There was slight antagonism in her voice, so CJ was glad to be able to report that “Margaret and Carol scoped out the best Somali restaurants in a seventy five mile radius. All the food will be authentic.”

“Told ya that too."

Skye looked put out for a moment, but smiled broadly when a new music track came on.

“ _This!_ ” she said as she stood from table and picked up a folder from the end of the dining room table. “Tell me you remember _this_.”

“Oh I remember this _very_ well,” Danny said with a small smile as he started to collect dishes. “Our guide took us to a town not far from Djibouti," he explained to CJ. "All sand dunes and dust and spectres of days gone by. And .. rocky hills that crash into the Gulf of Aden when you least expect them to. It was _something_.” 

CJ smiled at the awe in his voice. 

“The guide took us to a spot that could only be accessed by a 4x4,” Skye said as she sifted through the contents of the folder. “That’s where we heard this for the first time.”

“He carried a boom box everywhere with him,” Danny said with a laugh. “I can’t even tell you how many times she made him play this song.”

“I was so obsessed with it, I made him translate it for me,” Skye said to CJ.

“Really?” said Danny. “I never knew that.”

“It’s in here somewhere. That was a good night. _God, that night sky_ ..”

“ _That_ was something, too."

“Found it!” Skye said triumphantly as Danny was about to leave the room with a stack of dishes.

CJ watched his facial muscles tighten fractionally as Skye held it out for him to read.

“Maybe we can use it in the exhibition,” Skye suggested.

“Maybe ..”

The atmosphere in the room changed abruptly, and CJ looked from one to the other as Skye put the piece of paper back in the folder without a word. 

Clearly neither one of them was going to share.

Danny walked into the kitchen and turned the music off, Skye started to shuffle things around on the table, and the silence stretched until CJ started to feel uncomfortable.

“The remote control for the garage isn’t working ..” she said.

“Right, sorry,” Danny said as he walked back into the dining room. "I meant to tell you that I disconnected it. We started a mock-up of the exhibition in there. This place was starting to look like a storage depot.”

CJ looked around the dining room and noticed that all the boxes that had lined the floor for the past two days were indeed gone.

Skye ran a hand over the dining room table. 

“We’ll move the rest of the stuff in there tonight. Actually, I’ll go do that now.”

“I can help ..” CJ reached out instinctively and started stacking folders.

“No,” Skye said abruptly as she took the folders from her. “I’d rather you saw things _after_ we finish setting up.”

“CJ?” Danny called suddenly from the kitchen. “Wanna help me in here?”

“What's going on with Skye?” she whispered as she joined him at the dishwasher.

“Forget about Skye for a moment. Come ‘ere.” He pulled her towards him and kissed her. “How was your day?” 

“Fine. How was yours?”

“I thought we agreed to forget about Skye for a moment.”

She smiled and luxuriated in the feel of the hand snaking its way up her back, and the way he smelled.

“You’re wearing my favourite cologne.”

“I was hoping you’d notice,” he said suggestively as he placed his mouth back on hers.

“ _Danny .._ ”

He pulled his mouth away from CJ and rested his forehead against hers.

“Yeah?” His tone was carefully neutral.

“See you in a few? I’m going back to the garage.”

“Sure. Gonna finish up in the kitchen first.”

“Okay ..”

They heard the front door open and shut.

“Why don’t I finish up in here?” CJ suggested. “The sooner you go the sooner you’ll come to bed ..”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course. Go.”

The temperature had dropped into the sixties by the time CJ stepped outside an hour later. She walked down to the edge of the drive to check whether Danny had brought in the mail.

He hadn’t.

She became aware of the raised voices on her way back to the house - and suppressed a laugh, because she really didn’t think their mild-mannered neighbours even knew _how_ to argue.

It took her a moment to recognize Skye’s voice - and Danny’s.

“The agreement was that - “

“I should be able to use whatever photos I want.”

“The agreement was - “

“You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

“ _Skye_ -“

"This is about CJ ..“

“It’s _partly_ about CJ, _mostly_ about me. The agreement was -“

“It’s not _partly_ about CJ, it’s _all_ about CJ.”

“Is it unreasonable of me to ask you not to use photos that I think will upset her?”

“Not everything can be about CJ, Danny.”

“Did you hear when I said it was mostly about _me_?”

She didn’t respond, and Danny’s voice softened.

“I don’t want to revisit that time, Skye. I don’t want it out there for everyone to see, either. The agreement was just photos from the research phase of our travels, not anything beyond that. I need to hold you to that for several reasons.”

“Okay ..”

“Can we get back to work now? It’s getting late.”

“Yes.”

* * *

It was way past 1AM when Danny crawled into bed.

“Did I wake you?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Everything okay?”

“I heard you arguing.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” he said as he spooned up behind her.

“What photos?”

“You _really_ heard the argument?”

“I was picking up the mail.”

“She wants to use some of the photos she took while we were on the boat," he said slowly. "They let her keep the camera, forced her to take photos. She needs to keep her focus on the beauty she saw through the lens, not the .. other stuff. It will do no good to mesh the two together.”

“Are you worried?”

“That this wasn’t a good idea? Starting to be.”

CJ tried to turn in his arms, and was a little surprised when he stopped her.

“I’m too tired, CJ. Can I make it up to you in the morning?”


	3. Poison Dart

_**CJ and Danny’s House** _   
_**Early Evening on June 24th** _

“Open whenever you’re ready,” Danny whispered as he led her into the garage.

CJ wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but the explosion of colour caught her off guard.

It was too easy to associate this part of the continent with the endless news cycle of death, destruction, and despair, she thought to herself. But Skye had captured beautiful snapshots in time. Meaningful stories unfolding in everyday lives which would otherwise have gone unnoticed and untold; her ability to build rapport with the people she photographed particularly evident in the way she shot from a relatively close distance.

“What do you think?”

“That they’re going to look incredible once they’re mounted at the Foundation.”

He pulled her into his side. 

“Thank you for making this happen.”

“You’re welcome. Franklin’s coming, did I tell you?”

“Really? Wow.”

He placed a light kiss on her lips and maintained eye contact with her until they were interrupted.

“ _We have to make a choice on our bio photos_ ,” Skye called from the back of the garage. “And then I think we’re done.”

“Help me choose,” Danny whispered in CJ’s ear.

Skye looked up as they approached, and placed two photos of herself down on the table she was sitting at.

The one on the right was an edgy headshot which could have graced the inside of a fashion magazine, but it was the one on the left which drew CJ.

Skye was sporting a messy bun and an incandescent smile, and there was so much light in her eyes that it was heartbreaking to think of what had befallen her shortly afterwards.

“I like this one."

“Danny took that,” Skye said as she moved towards a makeshift board. “Yours are here,” she said to him.

CJ turned to look and her breath caught in her throat.

There were so many photos of Danny that she didn’t even know where to look first.

Many of them had been taken when he hadn’t been aware the camera was trained on him. 

Showcasing every facial expression she knew. And a few that she did not.

The revelation was not a welcome one, and she pushed it brusquely aside.

The way the light interacted with him was a testament to Skye’s skill as the photographer, she thought as she identified the three shots she liked the best. One that was backlit in ways that made for a particularly dramatic silhouette, one where he was deep in thought, and one where the front-lit angle made the wonder on his face that much more arresting. 

"Where was this one taken?" she asked as she tapped the photo.

"One of the waterfalls at Lamadaya," Skye said. "They cascade over sheer cliffs which line up against the Gulf of Aden, and work their way across the northern fringes of the country. As Danny would say, _it's something_."

“Do you have a favourite?” CJ asked him.

“How about you choose?”

His phone rang as she pulled the three photos off the board, and he stepped away to answer it.

“This one,” she said as she handed the photo of pensive Danny over to Skye. “And I’d like to have these two, if I may.”

“I’ll have copies made for you,” Skye said as she attempted to take the other two photos from her hand.

Something inside of CJ bristled.

“Wouldn’t it be simpler if I kept _these_ and you made copies for yourself?”

They looked at each other across the photos, and the tension which had been simmering between them since Skye’s arrival, despite CJ’s efforts to give her and Danny their space, escalated in a heartbeat.

Skye held onto the photos a moment longer than CJ felt she should have, and while she ultimately relinquished her grasp, CJ was almost sure that the gauntlet had been thrown down somewhere in the middle of the exchange.

“That was my editor.”

They looked up to see Danny smiling broadly.

“And?”

“He wants to talk about Nancy McNally’s biography.”

“I remember a time when she scared you,” CJ teased.

“Yeah, and then she helped bring me home. So it’s personal now.”

“That’s great news, Danny!” Skye said brightly.

“So great we should celebrate. Cocktails by the pool before dinner?” 

He looked between the two of them, clearly sensing that something was up.

“Did you pick a photo?” he asked carefully.

“Yes,” CJ said coolly. “I’m going to get changed and I’ll see you on the patio in ten.”

She studied the front-lit photo on the way into the house, and again while she was changing.

Despite the subtle frisson she felt every time she was drawn to his eyes, it seemed to her that the lens had also captured a part of Danny’s essence that was opaque. Something which didn’t belong to her and made her feel like a trespasser.

It hit her hard that the camera loved him - and that the woman wielding it loved him more.

She was wondering how many other photos of him were stashed away somewhere when she caught sight of herself in the mirror and realized that she hadn’t dressed down; she'd simply swapped one instance of power dressing for another. She gave herself a wry grin and stepped back into her closet to look for something more casual. 

No point in adding fuel to the fire by being passive aggressive.

* * *

Despite Danny’s best efforts, dinner was a stilted affair, and CJ escaped poolside as soon as she could.

Needing to process her thoughts before bedtime.

She was not alone long.

“Danny thought you might like a digestif,” Skye said as she handed her a shot of Jägermeister. “Also I wanted to talk to you.”

She dropped into the lounge chair closest to CJ.

“I haven’t thanked you yet for agreeing to the exhibition. And I appreciate you letting me stay here.”

She sounded so sincere that CJ didn’t see the poison dart coming.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Did Danny tell you that he almost died on the boat?”

“What?”

“He almost died.”

CJ wracked her brain. Carol had told her he’d been sick but not what the extent of it had been. She’d never asked Danny about it and he certainly hadn’t volunteered any information.

“He didn’t tell you,” Skye scoffed, before launching into a blow by blow description of his brush with dysentery. “He called for you for three days. And I hated you. I hated you so much I took photos for you.” She tossed an envelope into CJ’s lap. “So that if I ever met you you’d be able to see what you missed.”

CJ took a deep breath.

She didn’t believe for a moment that the photos had been taken for her benefit, but there was no doubt in her mind that these were the photos Skye and Danny had been arguing about.

She also knew when she was being goaded.

This could go one of several ways, she said to herself.

But in the end she summoned every bit of empathy that she could muster and stood up.

“Please tell Danny I’ve gone to bed,” she said as she walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was meant to be twice as long, but I need a few hours to pass between what happened here and what happens next. So I'm going to split the action and continue to work on the next piece.


	4. Complex Emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to assemble all of my CJ|Danny stories into a timeline. So certain things might appear in multiple stories. Case in point for this one, the book 'African Road – new writing from southern Africa 2006', which appears in the first chapter of 'Episodic Memory.' 
> 
> SADC stands for Southern African Development Community, and was made up of 15 countries in 2008. Established in 1992, the SADC is committed to regional integration and poverty eradication within Southern Africa through economic development and ensuring peace and security.

Danny was a long time coming to bed.

Long enough for CJ to start re-examining the photo.

When she couldn’t get out of her own head, she reached across the bed and pulled the book Danny was reading off his nightstand.

She flipped to the index and ran a finger down the pages; looking for any mention of the places that Skye and Danny had mentioned over the past few days, until she remembered that this book had the countries of the SADC as its focus.

 _Zimbabwe_ , however _, was._

She ran the search again, and settled in to read that particular entry.

“Hey ..”

She looked up to find Danny in the room.

“Whatcha reading?” he asked on his way into the bathroom.

“Your _African Roads_ book.”

“Really?”

“Thought I’d see if there was an entry from Zimbabwe. The Foundation’s new project is based there. Turns out there are two.”

“Are you reading the one that gives a graphic description of the granite kopjes?”

“If I am, I haven’t reached that part yet.”

She was placing the photo in the book as a placeholder when she caught sight of the writing on the back of it.

“ _Danny .._ ”

“Yeah?”

“Is this a Somali poem? _The heart rests only where it finds solace, and the soul yearns for a mate that is very dear to her_ ..”

“Where did you get that?” Danny said from the bathroom doorway.

“It’s written on the back of the photo,” she said as she handed it to him.

“They’re the opening lines of the song Skye played the other night.” 

He didn’t miss the hurt that washed over her face.

“Com’ere ..” he said as slipped onto the bed and pulled her close. 

“I need to know about the photos ..”

“Photos?”

“The photos you were arguing about.”

“I thought I told you not to worry about it.”

“It’s kinda hard not to worry about it when they’re sitting in an envelope five feet from the bed, Danny.”

“They’re _what?_ Did you get them from Skye?”

She wanted to retort that _no, she’d raided Skye’s secret stash of photos of him_ , but didn’t.

“Yes.”

“What did she say to you?”

“That you almost died.”

He hesitated for a moment and then said, “I was pretty out of it.”

“She said you called for me.”

“You and my mother. Maybe Gail once or twice.”

“Did Carol know?”

“That I called for Gail?” When she didn’t laugh he added, “I asked her not to give you the details.”

“Why?”

“You were running the country, and you didn’t want to see me?” 

“And you couldn’t have found time to tell me at any point in the past eighteen months?”

“What would you have done with the information? Felt bad about things you would never have had control over anyway?” He dropped a kiss to the top of her head before adding, “I have to do this work. CJ. I have to do it because nobody else can."

“I know ..”

“She deserves better than to define herself by her experiences on that boat.”

“I understa -“

The sound of glass shattering made them both jump.

“Stay here,” Danny said before he left the room.

Five minutes became ten, and then fifteen.

At the thirty minute mark she stopped caring whether either one of them had their space. 

The door to the guest room down the hall was open, and she could hear Danny’s voice even before she reached the threshold. 

She was met by the sight of him propped up against the headboard - and Skye curled up beside him, her head resting on his thigh. It was simply one person holding space for another, but also a stark reminder that there was a part of Danny’s life which had nothing to do with her.

She braced for resentment to flood her system, and was almost bowled over when sadness hit her instead. A deep, wrenching sorrow for the woman on the bed whose features were etched with an expression that she hadn’t seen up to now.

Skye whimpered when she saw CJ standing in the doorway, but Danny continued to rub her shoulder and speak softly to her.

“You’re okay, Skye.”

She mumbled something into his lap that CJ didn’t catch, but that he did.

“I’ll stay till you fall asleep.”

He raised his eyes to CJ’s.

“Please go back to bed,” he said gently.

* * *

CJ was sitting on the edge of the bed when he returned to their room.

“Hey ..” 

“Hey ..”

“So .. _uh_ .. this has become a lot more complicated than I anticipated,” he said as he sat next to her and took one of her hands in his.

“I know you have to do this work,” she said as she angled her body towards him.

“I can take her to a hotel in the morning.”

“I’m not threatened by this, Danny. It’s just a few more days. She should stay here.”

“You’re sure ..”

“Yes.” 

He looked over at the clock and sighed.

“We should get some sleep.”

“Okay.”

She settled onto her side of the bed and watched as he undressed.

Even in the dim light afforded by the nightshade, she could see tension radiating off every part of his body.

“ _What?_ ”

She briefly debated telling him how badly she wanted him.

“Nothing. We should get some sleep”.

He spoke her name just as she was about to turn the light out, and she turned to find him right next to her.

“I know this isn’t easy,” he said as he grazed her cheek with the back of his hand, “but I hope you also know that while Skye’s feelings for me are complicated, mine for her are not.”

“I know ..”

If she hadn’t been so attuned to him, the featherlight kiss wouldn’t have made her insides melt. 

But she was attuned to him, and the air grew still and sultry.

Longing tempered by uncertainty on both sides.

“Lights on or off?” she asked gently, her eyes fixed on his.

“On.”

But the hesitation was still there; inherent in the way he was hovering.

It occurred to her in a blinding flash of edification that he was hurting; that only _she_ got to see this side of him. And suddenly the possessive streak that had been threatening to raise its head all night broke loose, and manifested itself in a ferine display of ardour.

She rolled over on top of him and pressed him down into the mattress; dragging her lips across the tender skin of his throat and nipping at his right earlobe.

Their breathing was harsh, punctuated only by the sound of her mouth against his skin, until he wrapped his fingers in her hair and pulled her mouth to his.

He moaned into her, the sound soft and needy, and she pulled away just long enough to divest him of his underwear. She wasn’t sure at which point she’d divested her own, she only knew she couldn’t get enough of the feel of his skin against hers.

“ _CJ .. what are you doing?"_ ”

It took her a moment to realize that he’d flipped them over and was holding her firmly in place.

An apology tumbled out of her mouth.

“Nothing to be sorry about. I just .. I need to see you.”

He watched the rise and fall of her chest for a brief moment before cupping the side of a breast and kissing it; coaxing a moan out of her.

He brushed against her once before he slipped inside.

Falling into a mellow rhythm that intensified the ache. 

He kept his movements long and slow.

A slow burn until a fractional change in the position of her hips changed things.

The throbbing deep within became unbearable, and she arched her back and gripped his shoulders with such ferocity that for a moment he stopped to look at her.

And then he was back.

Pushing into her. Rocking them both.

Burying his head in her neck and murmuring something which might have been her name.

The smell of their lovemaking wove itself around them, counterpoint to the quiet susurration of deep emotion permeating the room.

“ _Come for me .._ “ Danny said as he felt her start to tighten around him.

She opened her mouth to say that she wanted them to come together, but he knew the signs even better than she did, and an orgasm rolled through her with wild abandon before she could formulate the words.

Danny’s jaw was clenched tight, and she could see him teetering on the edge of his own climax.

Trying to draw things out just long enough to give her a shot at another one.

“Keep going,” she said as she wrapped her legs around him.

Sinking her teeth into his shoulder when the rhythmic crescendo undid them both.

He dropped his forehead to hers while they struggled to catch their breath, and then lowered himself onto the mattress next to her.

As oxytocin drifted along her blood stream and lulled her into sleep, Danny ran his fingers through her hair and called her name again.

“Mmm?” she said as she nestled against him.

"Sleep well," he said as he drew the coverlet up around her.


	5. The Exhibition

_**Hollis Foundation** _  
_**Early evening on June 26th** _

_“If you want to look at them, I won’t try and stop you, but I’d prefer if you didn’t.”_

CJ leaned back into her chair for a moment, and then called for Margaret.

“Yes?”

She slipped the envelope across the desk.

“Keep this in the safe, will you please? ”

“Okay. People are starting to arrive downstairs.”

“Is Frank here yet?”

“He got here about ten minutes ago.”

* * *

Carol tapped her foot to the beat of the music and felt the thrill of pride in a job well executed. 

The turnout had certainly exceeded their expectations.

Partly due to a resurgence of the media coverage which had accompanied Danny and Skye’s circumstances in 2005, partly due to CJ’s profile, and partly due to Franklin’s connections.

The crowd was an eclectic mix of gallery owners from up and down the coast, local photographers, critics, journalists, representatives of non-profits and relief agencies, and dignitaries from the Somali embassies in DC and New York.

To her right, Frank Hollis was in deep conversation with a woman who ran a gallery in Newport Beach.

“So what do you think?”

“There’s a very interesting recalibration of the tension between reality and fantasy here,” she was saying. “It allows the familiar and the arcane to converge in ways - ”

“Which are both contemporary and timeless.”

“Exactly. Although I like _this one_ , too,” she said, indicating a photo a bit further down the room. “She has extraordinary ability with technique. Look at the way the elements in this composition contradict one another, narratively and spatially. ”

“And now it would appear I have a dilemma ..”

“Do you really though?” she said with a laugh as she patted his arm. “I’m fairly sure you’ll find a place for both of them, Frank. Why choose when you don’t have to?”

Carol moved on, and tuned in to a conversation between Skye and a local critic, who was waxing lyrical about the way her densely saturated visual language had produced a powerful exploration of human emotion.

She didn't miss the way Skye's eyes were focused on a spot behind him - where Danny was standing close to CJ.

He whispered something to her and, judging by the way they smiled and looked at each other, she was absolutely certain he’d just given her a touching compliment.

They were interrupted by Margaret - who was clearly relaying information - and from the way CJ stiffened slightly and Danny placed a hand at her back, Carol knew the news wasn’t welcome. 

She watched uneasily as CJ left the room, and made a mental note to ask Margaret about it later.

“Carol ..”

She looked up to find Frank Hollis at her elbow.

“Yes?”

“I have to leave soon. Would you get me a few minutes with her, please?”

“CJ?”

“Skye.”

“Sure.”

“Frank Hollis,” he said as a few moments later as he extended a hand to the photojournalist. "This is incredible work."

"Thank you."

“I would love to stay and talk but there's a dinner I need to attend, so I’ll cut to the chase ..”

* * *

Carol looked up to see Margaret snagging two drinks off a waiter.

“What was _that_ about?” 

“ _Human Rights Watch_ called again.”

“About Zimbabwe?”

Margaret nodded and took a sip of her drink.

“Do you think it will impact the project?”

Margaret shrugged before asking, “how’s it going down here?”

Carol had just started to share when a raised voice a few feet away made them turn their heads sharply.

“You’re saying I can’t do the work?”

“The idea was for this to be cathartic and help you move on. What you’re talking about is not conducive to that.”

“You’re saying I can’t do the work?” she repeated, her voice rising a notch.

“I’m saying you may not want to,” Danny countered gently. “It’s too soon to go back, Skye.”

“It’s a different part of the continent.”

“It’s a country where there’s massive unrest the moment.”

“But _you’d_ be with me ..”

Danny rubbed a face over his face and looked around uncomfortably.

“There are other things out there for you to photograph. People will be lining up after this.”

“But I want to work with _you_ , and Frank thinks that we're a perfect match for this assignment.”

“Skye, there is no assignment. This sounds like something Frank thought of tonight, and ran with because you were standing right here. I doubt he’s had time to run it by CJ yet.”

“So you’re saying CJ won’t want me to be part of the assignment.”

“The kind of thing you’re talking about would need to be cleared with CJ and the Board of Directors first. They’d need funding for it ..”

“I thought all the funding came from Frank Hollis.”

“It still needs to go through the correct channels.”

“You can’t keep holding me back!”

He noticed with alarm that her voice was continuing to rise, and that people were starting to pay attention.

“I’m not trying to hold you back, Skye.”

“Then what _are_ you doing? Taking her side with no consideration for my feelings.”

“There are no _sides_ here, only -“

“Only CJ, right? There’s only CJ.”

She was shouting now, and Danny became aware that everyone in the room was watching them.

“We need to leave here and talk about this somewhere quiet.”

“This is _my_ exhibition. _I’m not_ _fucking_ _leaving_ ..”

He felt gratitude sluice through him when Carol materialized by his side.

“Is everything okay?”

“We need to go, Skye,” he said as he took her arm. “Let’s go somewhere and talk. You don’t wanna do this in front of all these people.”

Carol realized that she was holding her breath, and heaved a sigh of relief when Skye backed down.

“Tell CJ that I’ve taken Skye to a hotel,” Danny said, leaning in to Carol. “Tell her not to wait up. I don’t know when I’ll be home. I need to get her some help.”

They had had only been gone a few minutes when CJ walked back into the room, followed closely by Margaret.

“What the hell happened? He did _what_?” she added when Carol filled her in. Her eyes blazed angrily as she tuned to Margaret. “Get him on the phone!”

By the time she had Franklin Hollis on the other end of the line she’d calmed down considerably.

“I’d appreciate you running this kind of thing by me first,” she said.

Grateful that she had an open enough relationship with him to be able to speak as directly as the situation warranted.

“I understand, but I’d still be interested in moving this forward. We need someone to document this project from the ground up.”

"I don't disagree."

“Do you think Danny will do it if we can find another photographer? Maybe someone local? I’d like him to be involved, CJ. I like the way he thinks, I like the way he writes.”

“I'd have to ask him.”

“How’s this? Invite him to the planning meeting on Tuesday and let's have a broader discussion.”

“I’ll talk to him about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be Skye's last appearance in this story. I don't feel qualified to write about post-traumatic stress, so we're just going to work under the assumption that Danny gets her the help she needs.
> 
> In the next chapter a piece of music will be mentioned as part of the plot. It's 'Stabat Mater Dolorosa' - the first movement in Pergolesi's 'Stabat Mater'.
> 
> There are many (many) versions out there, as you can imagine, but this is the one I'll be referencing. It was recorded in 1999 and features Barbara Bonney and Andreas Scholl. It's 4+ minutes long.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xROmr1s1ngs&t=249s


	6. Polyphony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided to leverage the untold wealth of Franklin Hollis - because it seems to me that it would be impolite not to do so.
> 
> Background notes:
> 
> March 29th, 2008 - Zimbabwe plagued by deadly violence and a worsening humanitarian situation in the midst of a first round of elections.
> 
> June 27th - President Robert Mugabe sworn in for another term after being declared the winner of the presidential run-off against Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
> 
> The mediation efforts were led by South Africa at the request of the South African Development Community (SADC).
> 
> July 18th - Senior United Nations political official Haile Menkerios arrived in Pretoria (South Africa) to further Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s efforts to help resolve the political crisis.

_**En route to Serengeti National Park** _  
_**Tanzania, Africa** _  
_**July 18th, 2008** _  
_**Almost 6pm** _

Danny tapped the driver’s shoulder as he hopped into the back row of the open 4x4.

“We can go.”

CJ settled against him; dropping her head on his shoulder as she handed him the satellite phone.

“Was that Carol?” he asked as he stowed it in the backpack at his feet.

“Yeah.”

“What’s the word?”

“Menkerios is still being briefed on the state of the mediation efforts.”

“What time is it in Pretoria anyway?”

“They’re one hour behind us. So almost 5pm.”

“What else did she say?”

“That there’s still concern the Foundation might be getting fleeced or defrauded on a massive scale.”

CJ angled her body in his direction, and draped an arm around his waist.

Sensing her need for closeness as she nuzzled her face against his neck, Danny put a hand to the back of her head and drew her mouth to his. The kiss caught fire for a moment and then settled into a simmer of gentle kisses which held the promise of more once they arrived at their destination.

“How far away are we?” she asked the driver after a while.

He held up an open hand.

“Miles or minutes, do you think?”

Danny shrugged.

“No idea, but five miles or five minutes .. it’s close.”

“Five whole days together. Whatever will we do?”

“You could proposition me for sex,” he whispered into her ear.

“Five times a day?”

“Uh .. not if you want to be able to walk at the end of the five days ..”

He murmured all kinds of things into her ear, and felt the tension she was carrying in her shoulders start to dissipate as she alternately laughed and feigned shock.

“We’re here .."

The jeep slowed down, and he watched her face as she clambered out of the jeep.

“Oh.My.God ..” she enunciated slowly as her eyes took in the encampment.

“Glamping at its finest,” he said with a smile.

“Is that a real word?”

“It is.”

“Was this put here just for us?“

“It was ..”

“How did you manage all this?”

“Turns out Franklin wasn’t kidding when he said his assistant would get me anything I wanted if I did the work.”

“Franklin’s assis - _what are you doing?_ ” she asked as he slapped his wrist.

“The driver told me that slapping at a mosquito that’s about to bite you forces it to associate the near-death encounter with your personal scent. Then it avoids you.”

“Or you could just wear bug spray.”

“I drenched myself in bug spray.”

“Must’ve missed a spot. Maybe your eyesight’s going.”

She shrieked as he lunged for her, but Danny showed no mercy.

“Admit it .. better me than you,” he said as he ramped up the tickling.

CJ tried to catch her breath.

“I admit it. They come nowhere near me when you’re around.”

“And are you grateful?”

“I am.”

“ _How_ grateful?”

She took advantage of the reprieve to kiss him, and smiled when he pressed himself against her and tangled his fingers in her hair.

“Take me inside and I’ll show you ..”

“Okay, but before we go ..”

He turned her outwards and wound an arm around her waist.

“Oh my God ..”

A golden glow had settled over the open landscape like a bushfire - silhouetting a solitary giraffe ambling past an acacia tree. 

“I spend too much time in meetings.”

“Maybe I need to travel with you more often.”

“So you can distract me?”

“Well, that and keep the mosquitoes away from you. _What?_ There are worse things than being the recipient of your gratitude. _Say_ , speaking of gratitude and keeping the _oh my God_ theme going ..”

“Careful,” she said as she took his hand and led him into the nearby tent, “or I might start calling you mosquito boy ..”

"That actually rolls off the tongue a lot better than fishboy, you know.”

* * *

  
_**Approximately 10pm** _

Danny stepped into the cold night air and looked around the encampment.

The gentle hum of a portable generator told him that all of his requests had been met, and he made a mental note to thank Franklin personally at the first available opportunity.

He walked over to the driver’s tent to assure himself that the locals hired to keep the perimeter safe. With that established, he headed back inside.

“CJ .” He knelt by the bed and ran a hand gently over her until she stirred. “ _CJ_ , wake up ..”

Her eyes opened but she struggled to focus in the semi-darkness.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“A few hours.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s time.”

“Time for what?”

“I’ve laid out warm clothes for you,” he replied instead. “I need you to wear them and keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them.”

She was about to ask what was going on when she recognized the hint of nervous hesitation in his voice that she only heard when he was trying to surprise her with something.

“There’s a step,” he said a few minutes later as he led her out of the tent. Followed by, ”we’re going to lie down right here,” a few moments after that.

She felt the plush support of what she determined were oversized pillows rise up to meet her, and the brush of a heavy blanket being pulled over her.

The stringed instruments took her by such surprise that she almost opened her eyes.

“ _Listen_ ..” Danny said gently as she tried to speak.

What she thought were cellos walked the bass through several instrumental suspensions by the violins and, she assumed, violas; the conversational interplay setting the mood for what she knew was going to be a deeply emotional narrative.

She felt Danny take her hand and pull it to his lips as the music swelled and came to an anticipatory pause.

“Open your eyes,” he said as two sublime voices rose into the air.

"Oh my God .."

The Milky Way hung almost vertically over them.

A primal swath of luminous matter that lit up the moonless sky and robbed her of breath.

She thought about every iconic photo she had ever seen, and all the wonder she'd felt as a child learning about the Alpha Centauri and the Sagittarius constellation came flooding back.

And with it the knowledge that the unfathomable vastness of the universe was humbling.

The realization that Danny’s hand was shaking crept up on her as the plaintive soprano voice soared above the countertenor and the strings, and she understood by the glint of unshed tears that this was deeply personal to him.

She eased herself into his arms as the strings wound to a close, and took a deep shuddering breath of her own when she felt the emotion rippling through him.

“You're very attached to this piece, aren't you?” she began cautiously.

“A little too much vibrato for my liking at times, but it's appropriate for this setting. And it has sentimental value.”

“There’s a story in there somewhere, isn’t there?”

“There is. Do you want to hear it?”

“I do.”

He kissed the palm of her hand.

“Her name was Inghean.”

“This another girlfriend you haven’t yet told me about yet?” she teased gently.

“Actually, my maternal grandmother.”

“That’s a beautiful name.”

“Except that nobody in the States could pronounce it, so she went by Imogen.”

“That’s a beautiful name, too.”

“Erin and I went to Ireland with her when we were twelve, and she took us to hear this. Not in a big cathedral. Just a small number of worshippers in an intimate setting, the way this was intended to be performed. I remember her telling us on the way home that it was a meditation on suffering. That Pergolesi had written it in the last few weeks of his life .. when he was dying of tuberculosis. He was only twenty-six. I had never heard anything like it.”

“It must have had profound effect on you as a young boy.”

“It was the last thing we did together.”

“I’m sorry ..”

“The first time I came to Africa I played this under the stars in her memory. I wanted to share it with you.”

“Will you play it for me again?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. You know, it took me a moment to realize you didn’t have a chamber orchestra in ghillie suits playing out in the bush.”

“I’m sure Franklin would have made that happen if I’d asked,” Danny said with a soft chuckle as the music started again. 

“Have you seen it before?”

“The Milky Way? A few times. Mostly here, but once when I was on assignment in Croatia. Just outside of Zagreb. It was nothing like this, though.”

“Light pollution?”

“Something about the tilt of the planet in the southern hemisphere. It will start to drift to the west soon.”

“I feel as though my soul is being sucked out of my body,” CJ said as the strings underscored the anguish in the lyrics. 

“I listen to this when I need to release very big emotions. Somehow it always helps.”

“I wish we had a telescope.”

“We do.”

“We do?”

“Yup. The driver has it. And a list of about twenty-two stars and constellations to look for.”

“Really?”

“You sound surprised."

“Can you locate the Tarantula Nebula?” she asked hopefully. 

“I guess we’ll find out tomorrow night.”

She watched him stare up at the sky and snuggled closer.

“What are you thinking?”

“How insignificant and peripheral man is to the universe,” he said as he dropped a kiss to her head and tightened his hold on her. “And how one person can be the universe to a man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Luppiters for the astronomy support ❤︎


	7. A Change In Plans

_**A** **lodge in the Masai Mara National Reserve** _   
_**Southern Kenya, Africa** _   
_**Just before dawn on Monday, July 21st** _

  
“Is it time yet?” CJ asked as she rolled over.

“Almost,” Danny replied with a yawn.

“And you’re still not going to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope. And this time I’m blindfolding you.”

“Ooh. Will it involve anything kinky?”

“I’m going to need a vacation after the vacation just from keeping up with you, you know,” he said as he turned over to look at her.

“I think I’m still trying to make up for lost time. There’s a seven year deficit.”

Danny snorted and shook off a yawn.

“How much time do we have before the alarm goes off?”

He peered at the clock.

“Eleven minutes.”

“You can do a lot to me in eleven minutes,” she purred as she flung the covers aside.

“I tremble and obey ..”

“That's a good answer.”

* * *

  
“Okay, take a step up.”

A whooshing sound coming from somewhere ahead startled her, but Danny steadied her and slowly turned her around.

“Ready?”

“Mhmmm ..”

She felt him loosen the scarf around her eyes and rest his hands on her shoulders.

“Open your eyes ..”

“Oh my God ..”

The ground, blanketed in misty tendrils, fell away slowly; the surreal feeling of not moving belied by the spectacular panorama as they rose into the air.

The sky was awash in reds and blues as the sun rose, and there, on Danny’s face, was the look of wonder that Skye had captured in her photograph.

She reached for his hand and whispered, "how high will we go?”

“One thousand feet,” he whispered back.

She knew enough about ballooning to know that the pilot had no control over the direction they would take, but that he could control the altitude pretty precisely - and for a moment she felt the terror of lack of control in every fibre of her being.

As if on cue, the whisper burners shot more heat into the balloon.

The tranquil silence which followed was interrupted only by the sounds of life on the plains below and, as the minutes passed, the fear ebbed.

She lost sense of time as they floated towards the Mara River; sometimes flying at treetop height, sometimes lower, and several times at the higher altitudes which afforded an extraordinary bird’s eye view of the sweeping plains below. 

Tiny dots crossing the landscape grew into zebra and impala as they wafted up, down, and across the open African sky, and she slowly became aware that their pilot was explaining something to Danny.

“Yes .. before circling up and around in a clockwise direction. Almost two million wildebeest, three hundred fifty thousand gazelle, two hundred thousand zebra; and thousands of other hoofed animals.”

“Do they travel together, the different animal groups?”

“There's some overlap. It has to do with the kind of grass they eat. Zebras eat the tallest grass, the wildebeest eat the medium - _there_!”

He pointed to a large group of animals on the banks of the swollen river and dropped the balloon downwards. 

“The wildebeest seem to jump into the water arbitrarily, but the frenzy of activity seems to indicate some kind of swarm intelligence," he carried on. "You just never know when that will be .. although it looks like you might be in luck. ”

They watched in awe as the wildebeest moved as one; sorting themselves into what looked almost like rank and file as they hit the water in a thunderous rush.

"Ohhh!"

A crocodile rose unexpectedly from the water.

“This is the most dangerous part of the journey.,” the pilot said as CJ cringed. “Thousands of them are taken by predators.”

“But thousands more are _born_ on the journey, right?”

“Yes. Circle of life stuff is big here.”

“So ..” Danny said as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

“You got us front row seats to the greatest show on earth ..”

“We might need to send Franklin a fruit basket or something.”

“Speaking of fruit basket, I’m starting to get hungry.”

“It does kinda feel like we’re in an oversized picnic basket, doesn’t it?”

“Any chance you packed snacks?”

“No .. but there’s a champagne brunch waiting for us down there,” he said with a slight incline of his head.

She peered over the edge of the basket and smiled.

“I’m going to have you bend your knees for landing,” the pilot said.

* * *

  
_**The Lodge** _   
_**4pm** _

CJ took a sip of her drink and wondered whether she could talk Danny into taking another long walk along the river bed before dinner.

Maybe not.

He’d dozed off in the hammock, his copy of ‘African Roads 2006’ splayed open across his chest.

The sound of the phone going off shattered the stillness in the air and almost made her spill her drink.

"Hi Carol .."

“So here’s what the statement says. _The Secretary-General welcomes the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the parties in Zimbabwe, which provides a framework for formal talks to end the political crisis in the country_.”

“What else does it say?”

“ _Mr. Ban also urges the enabling of humanitarian operations in the country to provide assistance to those in dire need_.”

CJ ran a hand over her face, her gaze automatically shifting to Danny.

Knowing what had to happen next.

“Okay. Call me when you have a day and time.”

“Was that Carol?”

“Yes. I’m sorry we woke you up.”

“It’s okay. Com’ere ..”

She slipped into the hammock and snuggled into his embrace.

"Did the United Nations issue a statement?"

"Yes."

“We’ve been expecting this ..” he said as toyed with her hair.

“I know, I just ..”

The phone rang again.

“I got you a meeting with the team from UN-Habitat tomorrow at eleven. Do you want me to send the plane tonight or tom -“

“Give me a few minutes. I’ll call you back and let you know.”

She hung up.

“Tomorrow at eleven.”

“At the offices in Nairobi?”

“Yeah.”

“We had four great days, CJ. There’ll be other times.”

“I know.”

“Carol sending a plane to pick you up?”

“Yes. She wants to know whether she should send it tonight or tomorrow. It’s only a forty-five minute ride from the airstrip to Wilson Airport. I could spend the night.”

“You should go tonight. Get your head back in the game. Not to mention a good night's sleep.”

“Okay,” she said reluctantly before punching in Carol’s number.

“Just don’t forget to send the plane back for me on Wednesday afternoon, will ya?” Danny said to Carol as he relieved CJ of the phone.

“You’re not coming back with her?”

“I’m meeting with a photographer here tomorrow.”

“Okay. Then I guess I’ll see you for the ride home on Wednesday night.”

“Yup.”

“Tell CJ I’ll call back as soon as I have her departure time tonight?”

“Okay. See ya! Carol says she’ll call back when she knows what time the plane is picking you up tonight,” he said when he hung up. “I’d say we have a couple more hours.”

“Okay. You’re really loving this book, huh?”

“Yeah. In one of the entries there’s a paragraph about the way the cold air from the Atlantic slams into the hot air of the desert and creates incredible fog formation over the Skeleton Coast. It reads as though the ghosts of sailors past can be detected along that strip of coastline."

"Read it to me .."

* * *

_**Magna Hotel & Suites** _   
_**Nairobi, Kenya** _   
_**Tuesday, July 22nd** _   
_**4pm** _

“Hey .. how’d it go?”

“Pretty good start. Follow up meeting tomorrow morning. It looks like it’s going to be a busy afternoon. God, you’d think I’d been away for a month. How was _your_ meeting?”

The excitement in his voice as he told her that he thought he’d found his guy was beyond endearing, but the secondary conversation she had going on with Carol was making it a little hard for her to concentrate.

“Hey listen .. I wanted to run something by you.”

“What’s that? _Where’s the document with the_ ..”

“How would you feel if I stayed on for a while?”

“ _No, we need to prioritize this_. You mean in Africa?”

“Hamizi is related to one of the writers in the _African Roads_ book.”

“Really? _Have they sent anything else yet?"_

“Yeah. He’s offered to drive me south to meet him and get a personal tour of the Okavango Delta.”

“Okay. How much longer do you want to stay?” she asked as she read a slip of paper that Carol had just passed her.

“End of the month?”

She circled something on the paper and passed it back to Carol.

“I’ll have Margaret change your ticket.”

“Great. Thanks.”

“I have to go. Maybe we can talk tonight?”

“They’re doing Herodotus under the stars here, tonight.”

“ _What?_ "

“The English Patient?”

“Danny, I have no idea what you’re talking about. _Carol, let's check in with Margaret about the_ -“

“Why don’t I just give you a call before your flight tomorrow. It sounds like you’re very busy.”

“Okay.”

She remembered as soon as she hung up that he’d really been looking forward to watching that movie with her.  
  



	8. Girl Talk

_**The patio at Nobu** _   
_**Pacific Highway** _   
_**Malibu, California** _   
_**1pm on Sunday, July 27th** _

CJ sipped her water as she looked out over the ocean - and stifled a yawn.

The days since her return had been a blur of activity. Consuming her every waking moment and, she reflected, infinitely more headspace than she should be comfortable with. 

She found herself feeling glad that she’d forced herself to stay away from the office in favour of lunch with Carol today.

The house felt empty in ways she hadn’t been prepared for upon her return. And it wasn't helping that she hadn’t heard from Danny since their last attempt at a conversation. It occurred to her that there were at least three things she wanted his perspective on, and jotted them down onto a napkin before she forgot them. 

The sound of frazzled voices over the water caught her attention, and she paused mid-sip to look at a wake surf boat that was listing a little bit too much in one direction.

 _You need proper ballast, my friend_ , she wanted to call out.

“This is gorgeous ..”

She looked up to find Carol slipping into the seat opposite her.

“This was a nice idea ..” she said after a waitress took their drink order.

“Let’s _keep it_ a nice idea by not talking shop?” Carol suggested.

CJ hesitated fractionally and then smiled as she reached into her bag.

“Okay, but only after I give you this. Something small to let you know how much I appreciate all of your work on the trip.”

Carol took the package apart slowly and a smile lit up her face as soon as she realized what she was looking at.

“ _Something small?_ ” she said as turned the 3G iPhone over in her hands. “I heard they sold a million of these the first weekend alone.”

“I heard that, too. Mine arrived just before we left LAX that weekend.”

“Gift from Danny?”

“Frank."

"Okay then .."

“Are you ready to order?” the waitress asked as she returned with beverages.

“What do you usually have when you come here?” 

“The prime tenderloin with miso ponzu. Danny likes the spicy seafood soup and the Dover sole with crispy spinach. I told him once that fish is a stupid thing to order at a restaurant, so he makes it a point to order seafood every time we eat out.”

“I think I’ll take a page out of _Danny’s_ book,” Carol said as she ordered seared toro with truffle teriyaki. “Speaking of, how long till he gets back?”

“Too long?” 

Carol laughed until she realized that CJ wasn’t joking.

“Everything okay?”

“I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“He hasn’t called .."

“Did you have an argument?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“I think he may be upset with me?”

Carol narrowed her eyes in confusion.

 _“Hey! R_ _eady to fly out?”_

_“Just wrapping things up before we head to the airport.”_

_“Okay.”_

_“Are you on the road already?”_

_“Just loading up the jeep. Listen, there’s a chance we may be off the grid for a while, so if I don -“_

_“Hang on. Yes, Carol?”_

_“I have someone from Human Rights Watch on the phone.”_

_“Can you take a - Danny, can you wait just a moment?”_

_But she should have known the call would last a lot longer than just a moment._

_By the time she’d come back to the call there was only dead air on the line._

“O-kay,” Carol said slowly when she’d finished the retell, “but there’s a substantial time zone difference between continents. Does he even have a satellite phone?”

“No, it stayed with me.”

“Well then. He also told you he’d be off the grid.”

“You think I’m making more of this than I need to?”

“I think you just miss him.”

“You think?”

“Yes.”

“Okay."

But the niggling feeling in the pit of her stomach persisted.

They sat in companionable silence until the food arrived.

“Have you watched _The English Patient?_ "

Carol’s fork stopped en route to her mouth.

“Haven’t you?”

“When did it come out?”

“Erm .. 1996? How can you not know _The English Patient_? Weren’t you doing PR for Triton Day and rubbing elbows with the glitterati of Hollywood at that time?”

“Who’s in it?”

“Ralph Fiennes, Kristin - uh - Scott Thomas.”

“Ohh ..”

“Exactly, _ohh_. That’s the one. I have a copy on DVD, if you want to borrow it.”

“I’d like that.”

“I’ll bring it in to work tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

This made her feel marginally better.

Even if she’d missed it, she could refresh her memory about the finer parts of the plot and be ready to engage in a conversation about it when Danny got home.

A string of profanity suddenly filled the air, and her attention was drawn out to the water again - where a full blown argument was now in progress.

It struck her out of nowhere that her ballast was missing, too. 

That thinking of Danny simply as the anchor in her life was actually doing him a disservice.

He’d been the ballast almost as far back as their relationship went, she realized.

Keeping the heat on her - and the entire administration - convenient or not.

There had been shouting matches and bitter recriminations, and she found she had to acknowledge it was some sort of miracle that they’d weathered all of it and been able to move forward.

She was startled by the feel of Carol’s hand touching her own.

“CJ?”

“Mmmm?”

CJ looked at the concern in Carol’s eyes and realized that her own were filled with tears.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

She wasn’t ready to share these particular thoughts with anyone but Danny, but she was also aware that they might not have weathered _anything_ if it hadn’t been for Carol's navigation behind the scenes.

“Have I told you lately how grateful I am that you played fairy godmother?”

“About three months ago, but don’t let that stop you from telling me again.”

They both laughed.

“So .. “ Carol said as she watched the tears recede, “did you take any _photos_ on your fancy new phone? I seem to recall being promised _details_ when I got the invitation to lunch.”

“Now that you mention it, _yes_ ..”

CJ handed her phone over.

“Did you spend the entire four days taking photos of Danny?” Carol asked as she swiped right.

“What do you mean?”

“There are ten pictures of Danny for every picture of a baobab tree or big cat on here,” she said with a chuckle as she rotated the phone screen.

“Huh ..” CJ wondered whether she’d been subconsciously channelling Skye, but kept that thought to herself, too. “What can I say, he’s very photogenic.”

“I can see that ..” 

Carol grinned, and CJ remembered that there might be a few photos on there that were not suitable for public consumption.

“Gimme that ..” she said as she snatched the phone back.


	9. T Minus Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for the first parts of this chapter ..

_**Carol’s office @ The Hollis Foundation** _  
_**T-3 Days: Monday, July 28th** _

“Is it hot in here, or is it just me?” Carol asked as she pushed the food around in her plate.

“Just you,” Margaret said without looking up.

“What are you reading?”

“A food magazine.”

“Does this mean you’re planning another elaborate party?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Remember the Seven Deadly Sins party?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, give it up. What are you reading?”

“An article about how the people of Sardinia improve pecorino. That’s cheese made from sheep milk,” she added when Carol looked vacantly at her.

“Okay, I’ll bite. How do you improve sheep milk?”

From the look in Margaret’s eyes, Carol knew she was going to regret asking.

“Crack open the cheese, let flies settle in. As they eat, clean themselves out, and lay their eggs - in the cheese - they impart unique flavors that are improved by the texture of the wriggling maggots after they hatch. You're supposed to eat _them_ , too.”

Carol’s stomach threatened to revolt.

“Did you _really_ need to share that?”

“You asked."

“Are you seriously not feeling hot?”

Margaret peered at her.

“Are you coming down with something?”

“I hope not. We have a crazy afternoon, and an even crazier week. What time does our meeting with Franklin start?”

Margaret consulted her watch. 

“Two hours. You look pale.”

“The cheese in this tastes off. Although it could be the power of association. The pine nuts look like maggots. Thanks for ruining pesto for me,” Carol said as she pushed her plate away.

“I have some Swedish Bitters at my desk.”

“Do I even want to know what those are?”

“Bitter herbs and grain alcohol. They’ll either settle your stomach or make you empty it.”

“I’ll pass, thanks.”

“Okay. Just don’t be _grumpy_ okay? I can only handle one of you at a time.”

“Is she grumpy?”

“No, _she’s_ mopey.”

“Mopey?”

“ _So_ mopey I’m considering sneaking a pink rose onto her desk every day until he gets back. It’ll be our secret.”

“How many days left?”

“T minus three days until he flies out.”

“Do you think it’s strange he hasn’t called?”

Margaret hesitated and then said, “it might be hard to get to a phone.”

“ _How hard can it be?_ ”

Margaret shrugged, and Carol swayed a little on her feet as she stood up.

“Maybe I’ll try those Swedish Bitters.”

* * *

_**CJ’s office @** _ _**12.30pm** _

“So what _Human Rights Watch_ are saying is that police continue to routinely and arbitrarily arrest and detain opposition activists, right? Using harassment and detention without charge as a form of persecution?”

“Yes, and they’re recommending that the US and the EU withhold non-humanitarian development aid to Zim-"

Carol blinked rapidly and ran her tongue along the inside of her mouth as it filled with saliva.

“Withhold non-humanitarian development aid to Zimbabwe in the absence of clear progress in promoting respect for human ri- “

She covered her mouth with her hand, and CJ only just made it to her side with the waste basket.

“ _Margaret!!_ ” she called.

“Score for the Swedish Bitters,” Carol said weakly before she heaved into the basket one more time.

“Find someone to take her home.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be fine,” Carol protested before another wave of retching took over.

“Do you think it’s something you ate?”

“I don’t think so.”

“You really need to go home then.”

“They’re bringing the car round,” Margaret said from the doorway. “Can you walk?”

“Yes.”

Margaret peered into the basket as she ushered Carol out of the door.

“You’re right, they do look like maggots.”

The sound of Carol retching echoed down the corridor.

* * *

_**CJ’s Office @ The Hollis Foundation** _  
_**T-2 Days: 1pm on July 29th** _

The sound of Carol throwing up was doing nothing for her nerves. And Margaret hovering by her side was not doing anything for them either.

“Her friends from the _Women’s Twentieth Century Club_ are looking after her,” Margaret whispered. “Of Eagle Rock,” she added when CJ looked at her in confusion. “And Zane and Rudy from finance are on their way over.”

“Carol, I have to go. I’ll call you later.”

Carol mumbled something incoherent.

“I can’t find anything today ..” CJ complained as she sifted through a mound of papers on her desk.

Margaret leaned over and pulled a manila folder out of the pile.

“ _Here_ ,” she said as she pushed it into her hands. She took a step back and looked her up and down. “Maybe freshen up a bit?”

CJ was almost done brushing her hair when Margaret appeared in the doorway.

“Danny on line one.”

She grabbed the phone so fast it almost fell out of her hand.

“ _CJ .._ ”

The relief which sluiced through her was snatched away the next instant by the dull sound of a dial tone.

“ _Damn it!_ ” She slammed the phone down so hard that it bounced off the cradle. “Margaret!”

“I don’t know what happened ..”

“Okay,” CJ said as she collected herself and straightened her skirt. “Where are Zane and Rudy?”

“I’ll put them in conference room one and give them a beverage. Maybe he’ll try calling again.”

He didn’t.

When she returned from the meeting two hours later, Margaret was doing some filing in her office.

“Danny called back,” she said in a rush. “He said he’s doing fine but that they’re still off the grid. He had to walk a long way to get to a phone. He’ll call from the airport before he gets on the flight home.”

“Did he say where he was?” CJ asked as she dropped into the chair behind her desk.

“He said you knew.”

_“He’s offered to drive me south to meet him and get a personal tour of the -“_

She’d been so busy looking at the piece of paper Carol had handed her that she’d totally missed what he said.

She gave Margaret a stricken look.

“I don’t know where he is,” she said slowly.

A sense that everything was swirling hit her as she stood up.

“I think I have whatever Carol has ..” she said as her hand rushed up to her mouth.

Margaret grabbed the waste basket just in time.

* * *

_**Margaret’s office @ The Hollis Foundation** _  
_**7am on July 31st** _

“Why is she even here?” Carol asked.

“I don’t know. She can barely stand upright.”

“ _Margaret_ ..” CJ called from the other room.

Margaret put a finger to her lips before answering, “yes?”

“Has Danny called?”

“He has not.”

“Can you check the status of the flight?”

“Yes.”

Margaret tapped a few keys on her computer and looked up at Carol.

“His flight left twenty minutes ago.”

“Maybe he got to the airport late and wasn’t able to call.”

“That’s probably it.”

“Should I ..”

“Yes.”

“Do you have a contact?”

Margaret pulled out a piece of paper and wrote on it. “This is who I deal with when we fly commercial. And that's the flight number.”

“I’m going to do it from my office.”

“Okay.”

“ _Margaret .._ ”

Margaret pulled something from her desk and walked into the adjacent office.

She found CJ lying on her couch.

“Is the flight on time?”

“The flight left twenty minutes ago.”

“That makes no sense. You’re sure he didn’t call ..”

“I’m sure.”

“CJ ..” Margaret began carefully. “I don’t think you caught Carol’s bug.”

“What do you mean?”

“Carol had a twenty-four hour thing. This has been going on for forty-eight and ..”

“ _What?_ "

Margaret reached down and placed something in her hand.

“I’m not even going to ask why you have one of these lying around.”

“I picked it up on my way home yesterday.”

“Why?”

“Your .. breasts look bigger.”

“They do?”

“Yes.”

“I should wait till Danny gets home.”

Margaret looked solemnly at her.

“If you’re pregnant you need to know. You can’t afford to get dehydrated. Things go downhill quickly.”

CJ considered arguing, but found she had no energy to do so. She tried to process, too, but her mind was something of a blank. All she knew was that while they hadn’t exactly been trying for a baby, they hadn’t been taking any precautions either.

She swung her legs slowly down to the ground and made her way unsteadily to the private bathroom at the end of her office.

She had just laid the test on the edge of the sink when there was a tap on the door.

“Check your areolas,” Margaret said. 

“Check my ..”

“ _Areolas_.”

“Okaay ..” CJ said as she unbuttoned her blouse and raised the fabric of her bra from her breasts.

“Are they darker or maybe larger?”

“I think so?”

“That’s a sign. Do you want me to sit in there with you?”

“I think I’m okay.”

_If Danny wasn’t going to be the first to know, at least she should see the result on her own._

“I think you can check it now,” Margaret called impatiently after a while.

CJ noticed a slight tremor in her hand as she picked up the test wand.

The line was faint, but it was there.

Feeling more than a little stunned she opened the door to her office.

Carol and Margaret were standing close together, their faces ashen.

It took a moment for her to remember the last time she’d seen that look on their faces.

“Carol?”

“Danny didn’t check in for his flight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In 'The Ticket' it is revealed that Danny and CJ have a child together. Per the Wiki timeline, the Bartlet Presidential Library was inaugurated in 2009 - so by my calculations she would have had to be pregnant by the middle of 2008.


	10. Answers

_**Margaret’s office @ The Hollis Foundation** _   
_**August 1st** _

“What did _he_ say?”

“He wants to admit her.”

“What did _she_ say?”

“She thinks she’s getting on a plane to Nairobi.” 

“To lead a search party?”

“Don’t get me started.”

“See if you can talk them both into home care. Tell the doctor that I’ll get a field hospital set up in the garden, if I have to.”

Carol snorted - but only because she knew that Margaret would likely have it place before she got CJ home if she felt it was warranted.

“Maybe start by calling the Visiting Nurse Association and get someone there this afternoon?”

“Okay.”

“Any word from your contacts at the State Department?”

“None.”

* * *

_**CJ and Danny’s House** _   
_**August 2nd** _

  
Carol leaned her head against the door jamb of the master bathroom and hugged herself tight.

It had been hard enough watching CJ struggle the past few days; scared out of her mind yet unable to do anything except prioritize her fledgling pregnancy. But the conversation which was currently unfolding was too hard to witness.

_“Daddy? Daddy, it’s Claudia Jean ..”_

Her brother had tried to warn her that Talmidge was having a very bad day, but she’d insisted on talking to him anyway.

_“Daddy, please .. it’s me. It’s Claudia Jean.”_

Carol let herself into the bathroom and closed the door behind her so that CJ wouldn’t hear her cry.

* * *

_**Margaret’s office @ The Hollis Foundation** _   
_**August 3rd @ 9am** _

Margaret dialled Carol’s number.

“I need you to come in to the office.”

“When?”

“Now.”

“What’s going on?”

“Josh called.”

Carol was already reaching for her keys as she said, “I’m on my way.”

Fifteen minutes later she was standing at Margaret’s desk.

“How’s she doing?”

“Rough night. She was asleep when I left her, but otherwise slowly losing her mind. The nurse had already arrived."

“Okay.”

“What did Josh say?”

“The US Embassy in Gaborone called State about forty minutes ago. He’s going to sit in with us on a four way conferen -”

The phone rang.

“Ms. Hooper, please hold for Mr. Lyman,” a female voice said.

“Josh ..”

“I have everyone on the phone.”

Halfway into the conversation Margaret stepped away from her desk and threw open a filing cabinet. She pulled out a folder and rifled through the documents in it until she found the one she was after. She exhaled in concern as her eyes fell on the section which held the information she needed.

“We can coordina-“

“We’d like to treat this as a private matter, Josh.”

“Ms. Hooper -“ the representative from State began.

“We can get this done _faster_ .. and at no cost to the tax payer.”

“We need to tell her,” Carol said as soon as the call was over.

“We need to have our facts straight first. _Here_ , ” Margaret slid a dry erase marker across the desk and nodded towards a glass board. “Start writing..”

Carol nodded.

“Evening of July 23rd, you and CJ leave Nairobi. Morning of the 24th, Danny and Hamizi leave the lodge. Heading south towards Botswana. We now know they were staying with Hamizi’s family off the grid.”

She picked up a marker in a different colour and circled _Hamizi’s family_. On the side she wrote _Shaikerawe - population 500 / no running water / no electricity_.

Carol checked the internet to get an idea of the village location.

“That’s almost on the border with Namibia. What were they doing all the way out there anyway?”

Margaret shrugged as she said, “evening of July 28th, Danny found a way to place a call. Leave July 29th and 30th blank. July 31st, he missed his flight home.”

She picked up another coloured marker and wrote _first symptoms, Day 1_ next to July 30th and replaced _missed his flight_ with _Day 2_ next to July 31st.

“If incubation period is three to six days,” she said as she started counting backwards and drew a squiggly line upwards, “then this could have happened anywhere along the way.”

“I don’t understand how this happened at all,” Carol said. “Everyone is vaccinated.”

“Not everyone,” Margaret said as she pointed at the paperwork on top of the filing cabinet. “You and CJ have had yours for a while. Danny was kind of a last minute addition to the trip and _that_ vaccine isn’t readily available in the US to begin with. There probably wasn’t enough time to get one. Keep writing .. August 1st, Day 3, August 2nd, Day 4.”

Carol turned a pamphlet over in her hands.

“Okay, so the literature says that the fever breaks after the fourth day. So we have to assume that was the case if Hamizi was comfortable leaving him long enough to get in touch with the embassy.”

“Yes.”

"God, this must have been awful. Have you see the symptoms? Headache, muscle and joint aches, fever, flushing, loss of appetite, vomiting, jaundice?"

"In a village with no running water .."

“Margaret, we have to tell her ..”

“Not until we have a plan in place to airlift him out of there and get him to a hospital.” She calculated the time difference. “I need to call Frank and then I need to start working on the logistics.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Margaret looked at her watch.

“What time does Erin's plane land?”

“Two hours.”

“Good. Hopefully we’ll have a plan in place by the time it lands.”

“What should I do?”

“Figure out the best way to tell CJ that Danny is lying in a hut somewhere with Yellow Fever?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While it is Winter on the African continent at this time of year, and is considered a 'dry' season, afternoon temperatures are around 25C/78F, and the mosquito that is the primary vector for Yellow Fever is still around. Plenty of standing water in the places Danny has been.


	11. Family Ties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is an 11 hour difference between California and Botswana, so the events in the chapter are essentially transpiring at approximately the same time on two continents.

_**En route to Danny and CJ’s house from LAX** _   
_**August 3rd @ 12.30pm** _

“Thank you, Margaret.”

“You’re welcome.”

"Whew," Carol said as she shot a relieved smile at the woman in the passenger seat as the call ended.

“I’m sorry,” Danny’s sister said as she dabbed at her eyes with the palm of her right hand. 

“Please don’t apologize .."

“It’s just .. it’s been a lot. I need to call my parents.”

“Of course.”

Erin pulled herself together and placed the call.

“Hey, pop. Yeah. They’re in the air. Just under an hour. They’re flying him to a private hospital and then from there back to the States. Um, a _Sikorsky_ ..”

She looked to Carol for help.

“S-76.”

“A Sikorsky S-76, pop. Yes, I’m sure you can find pictures on the world wide web. I don’t know if the pilot wears night goggles to improve his vision. Maybe?" Her voice dropped a notch. "Uh .. I don’t know but I wouldn’t worry about that now.”

Carol registered something that sounded like embarrassment in Erin’s voice but kept her eyes on the road.

“How are the kids? I bet. We’re almost at the house. I’ll call you as soon as there’s an update. Okay. Love you, pop.”

“Everything okay?” Carol asked when she hung up.

“Yeah. The kids have coerced my parents into building them a fort. The house is a train wreck already.”

“I’m sure they love it.”

“They do. It’s a good distraction, too.”

Carol went out on a limb.

“Are they worried about - “

“How much this is gonna cost?” The embarrassment showed up in Erin’s face. “Yeah, they are.”

Carol smiled and patted her on the knee.

“That’s the one thing nobody is going to have to worry about,” she said as she pulled up to a gated community.

* * *

  
_**Shaikerawe, limits of Botswana** _   
_**August 4th - just shy of 1am** _

Hamizi ran outside as the whirring of rotor blades cut through the air overhead; shielding his eyes against the dust cloud that swirled up around the helicopter’s landing gear.

He waved as two medical personnel ran towards him.

“Mark, Peter,” one of them said by way of introduction as the photographer led the way to a nearby hut. “What can you tell me?”

“He seems to have taken a turn for the worse.”

“Abdominal cramps?”

“Yes.”

“Vomiting?”

“Yes. In here ..”

Mark knelt by the bed and made contact with Danny’s listless body.

“ _Danny .. can you hear me?_ ” 

He placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. 

Peter ran a pencil flashlight up and down Danny’s body and then swirled the beam around the hut; looking for anything which might give him additional information.

“Blood ..” he said as he indicated a bucket of vomit close by.

“Near his nose and eyes, too. Looks like someone tried to clean him up."

“Pulse is thready,” Peter said.

“ _Danny .. can you hear me?_ ” Mark said again.

Danny moaned and his eyelids flickered slightly as Peter wrapped a pressure cuff around his arm.

“Eighty over forty ..” 

Mark glanced up sharply.

"That's way too low. Are you going with us?” he asked Hazimi.

“Yes.”

“Grab his things. We need to get him loaded. He’s in worse shape than we thought.”

* * *

_**The kitchen in CJ and Danny’s house** _

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Erin said to Carol over a steaming cup of coffee. “

“Same.”

“So .. “ Erin said with a mischievous smile.

“What do you want to know?”

“A bit of backstory. Danny and I are very close, but he has always kept his work life very separate from his private life. Don’t get me wrong, we knew he’d been crushing on someone at the White House for years, but we honestly thought it was _you_.”

Carol almost spat out her coffee.

“Me?”

“Your name came up so often that’s what we all thought.”

“Carol Fitzpatrick, official red herring,” Carol said with a giggle. 

“He fessed up to me about CJ the week before he called to ask her to dinner the first time.”

“And your parents?”

“Ha ha ha,” Erin laughed out loud. “Danny made a flyby visit to tell them he was moving to California and casually let drop the fact - in the middle of the soup course - that he’d be moving in with Claudia Jean Cregg. And my parents, our siblings, their spouses, and all the older nieces and nephews thought it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.”

“They didn’t believe him?”

“Nope. So he let them have their fun all through dinner, and when they had tired themselves out he called and put her on speaker.”

“That’s funny.”

“And it was even funnier when met her in person. They were all star struck, but that's a story for another time. Okay, your turn.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Did she really make the first move?”

Carol clapped her hands palms together

“Yes and no. You know about Gail?”

“The goldfish who should have been a bag of crackers?”

“Yes. So if you consider Gail to be the _opening salvo_ , then Danny made the first move. _But_ ..”

“ _But?_ ”

“State of the Union night - that’s a few weeks after the fish delivery - she asked me to call Danny from the press room into her office.”

“And?”

“She told him she wanted to - “

“ _Carol?_ ”

They looked up to see the visiting nurse in the doorway.

“She’s awake and asking whether Erin has arrived?”

“You owe me the rest of that story,” Erin said with a grin as she followed the nurse out of the room.

* * *

_**Medevac Helicopter** _

Peter showed Hamizi where to sit as he tapped the side of the pilot’s seat.

He waited for the thumbs up sign and immediately joined his colleagues in the centre of the chopper.

Mark was barking orders as he slapped cardiac monitor pads onto Danny, and Peter slipped an oxygen mask over his face, put an oxygen saturation clip on his finger, and attached an automatic pressure cuff to his arm. The speed which with which Mark inserted a cannula, connected IV tubing and started administering fluids almost gave Hamizi whiplash, but he was distracted by a third medic who dropped into the seat next to him.

“I need a detailed description of the past few days,” she said, pen and clipboard at the ready.

He was just about halfway through telling her when he heard the urgency in Mark’s voice.

“BP's still eighty over forty. Hit him with ten micrograms of dopamine. _Danny .. Danny can you hear me?_ We need a reliable urine output, I’m going to insert a Foley catheter.”

Hamizi felt nauseous as he turned his attention back to Carla.

The next time Mark spoke, the urgency in his voice had escalated.

“We’ve pushed two thousand ccs of fluid, urine output is only thirty ccs.”

“This is way too dark,” Peter said as they exchanged a look of concern.

“Carla!” Mark yelled over his shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Let the pilot know we have a change of plan. Call dispatch, find us the closest facility with a good ICU.”

“On it. Excuse me ..” she said to Hamizi.

“What’s his temperature?” he heard Mark ask.

“Still 103.”

Mark opened a nearby compartment and pulled out a vial labelled _Ofirmev._

“Let’s hang this. Calculate the drip to administer over fifteen minutes. _Carla_ , where are we with dispatch?”

He dropped a hand to Danny’s shoulder.

“Hang on, buddy ..”

* * *

_**CJ and Danny’s bedroom** _

“Sorry, I guess I fell asleep on you there,” CJ said weakly as she tried to raise her head.

“It’s okay ..” Erin said with a smile from an armchair beside the bed. She waved a CD box in the air. “Just a coincidence or did Danny share this with you?”

“Danny ..”

“Kinda morbid, dontcha think?”

“I had Margaret pick up a copy but I haven’t been able to bring myself to listen to it yet.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Did Margaret call back with an update?”

Erin shook her head as she looked at her watch.

“They should have him by now. I’m sure she’ll call back any moment. How’re you doing?”

“The nausea is relentless ..”

“Well, I brought you some peppermint essential oil. It helped when I was pregnant with Sam. I would sniff it when I thought I was about to puke. It helped stave off the gagging.”

“Thanks.”

Erin reached for her hand and squeezed it gently.

Carol popped her head round the door.

“Want to try eating something?” she asked hopefully.

“Even just the thought of eating makes me - “

A text message came through with a ding on Carol’s phone just as the nurse sidestepped her and entered the room.

“When’s the last time you had anything to drink?” she asked CJ.

“I’ll let the two of you duke it out over the water situation,” Erin said as she caught sight of Carol beckoning to her from the hallway. “What’s going on?”

“Margaret just pulled up.”

"Okaay .."

The look on Margaret’s face was enough to tell them that she had chosen to come because whatever news she had needed to be imparted in person.

“She can’t go ..” Carol said.

“I know she can’t go, but she’s going to want to..”

“I’ll go,” Erin said quietly. “Somebody needs to be with him. How soon can you get me on a flight?”

“The Gulfstream is standing by.”

“Oh God,” Erin said with a shuddering breath as she said as she reached into her pocket for her phone. “I have to tell my mother ..” 

“And we have to tell CJ ..” Carol said as she cast a glance towards the house.


	12. Across Two Continents

_**CJ’s bedroom** _   
_**August 6th @ 9pm, local time  
** _

CJ twisted in the tightly-wound sheets as she tried to navigate the space between sleeping and waking; the ever-present hum of anxiety escalating in the darkness.

She tried to focus on her breathing as she followed a fleeting figure she knew to be Danny, but somewhere in the shadowy recesses of her mind a familiar figure rose to keep her company.

“Mom?”

She became more and more agitated as she realized that stopping to acknowledge her would mean losing sight of Danny, who was getting closer and closer to a pinprick of light in the distance.

Aware at some level that he was going somewhere she couldn’t follow, she clung to the image of her mother until she smelled Danny all around her. Something she knew wasn’t possible, and which filled her with the kind of dread she had too much frame of reference for. She turned back to the light but it had faded - leaving an implacable blackness that felt as though it was moving towards her.

“ _Mom_ ..”

“I’m here, Claudia ..”

She reached out blindly, and was jolted out of her nightmare by contact with something solid. As her brain reasserted control over the situation, it came to her that her mother had never called her Claudia. 

She focused slowly on the person kneeling at her bedside, and found herself staring into the cerulean eyes of Orlagh Concannon.

“You were having a bad dream,” she heard her say as hair was brushed gently away from her face.

She had no idea when, or even why, Orlagh had arrived, but having Danny’s mother there created a rush of emotion which manifested itself in shivering she was unable to control.

“Would you like me to hold you?”

CJ nodded, and angled her body towards Orlagh as she felt the bed dip.

“Go back to sleep,” Orlagh said as she stroked her hair gently. “I’ve got you.”

* * *

_**Hospital in Botswana** _   
_**August 7th @ 1pm, local time** _

“Hope you like sugar in your coffee.”

Erin looked up in surprise. 

It had been totally surreal spending twenty plus hours in the company of Franklin Hollis on his private jet, but she hadn’t really thought he’d follow through and show up at the hospital as he’d said he would.

“How was your meeting?”

“CJ is better at this kind of thing than I am,” he said with a low laugh, “but everyone’s still talking to us, so I don’t think I sabotaged any of her work. At least I hope not. What’s the news here? Have you seen Danny?”

“They let me into ICU for all of five minutes.” 

Her eyes filled with tears as she relived the moment.

“His labs are bad, there’s talk of a secondary infection, they’re feeding him intravenously via hyperalimentation ..”

Her voice trailed off for a moment.

“They haven’t totally _stabilized_ him yet?”

Erin shook her head.

“I’ve been warned to expect a parade of consultations with the folks from .. infectious diseases, neurology, nephrology, gastroenterology, internal medicine.” She started counting off on her fingers. “I’ve lost count.”

Franklin reached over and squeezed her hand.

“ _Anything_ he needs. And if you want me to throw my weight around a little, I can do that too. I’ll ask around. See if they’re missing any equipment that we can provide.”

“I don’t even know what to say. You’ve been so generous already.”

Franklin was just about to answer when they were interrupted.

“Are you Erin?” 

“Yes. Are you -“

“Hamizi,” he said, extending a hand to her before passing a backpack along to her. “This is Danny’s. In the hurry to get on the chopper I didn’t pick up his other bag, but this is where he kept everything important.”

“Thank you,” Erin said. “Can we talk? I have so many questions.”

“Of course.”

He sat in the seat that Franklin pushed towards to him.

* * *

  
_**Margaret’s Office @ The Hollis Foundation** _   
_**August 7th @ 9am, local time** _

“All this waiting is driving me nuts,” Carol said.

“The time difference is driving me nuts,” Margaret replied. “Is she still upset that news is getting filtered through us?”

“A little, but she understands why. She’s not even coherent half the time. The nurse threatened to put her on IV fluids this morning.”

Margaret grimaced. 

“She needs a good cry.”

“Oh, speaking about what she needs, she asked you to bring this to the house later. Any idea what it is?”

Margaret read the piece of paper that Carol had passed to her. 

“Yes.”

* * *

_**Hospital in Botswana | CJ and Danny’s House** _   
_**August 7th @ 9pm | August 7th @ 10am** _

“I’m scared, mom.”

“I know, pet.”

“I wish you were here.”

“Me too, but Danny would want me here with Claudia.”

“How’s she doing?"

“Well, we had a bit of a standoff here. She finally agreed to IV fluids when the nurse got on the phone to call an ambulance to take her to the hospital.”

Erin laughed in spite of herself.

“Sorry, I know it’s not funny ..”

“ _Actually_ ..”

Erin chuckled and then said, “how’s she _really_ doing?”

“Hard to tell. She doesn't say much.”

“Did you spray any more of Danny’s cologne on your clothes?”

“It lingered.”

“I still can’t believe you did that.”

“It worked.”

“I would have thrown up all over you. Didn’t it make her gag?”

“I think it calmed her down.”

“How do you always _know_ this stuff?”

Her mother laughed.

“I got it from my mother, who got it from her mother before her.”

“So why didn’t _I_ get it from you?”

“Maybe you got half and Danny got the other half.”

“A likely story. But seriously .. how's she doing?” 

“She’s struggling with appearing vulnerable.”

“With you?”

“With everyone. She’s clearly not used to not being in control. Must be the effect of all those years on the job.”

“Have you _told_ her yet?”

“Told her what?”

“That you possess the uncanny ability of being able to tell whether babies are boys or girls?”

“No.”

“ _Can_ you tell?”

“Have I ever been wrong about even one of my six grandchildren?”

“No, no you haven’t. So what is it?”

“ _Really,_ Erin? You know the rules. The mother has to want to know first.”

“So are you going to ask her?”

“We’ll see. Now, tell me what’s going on over there. I take it nothing’s changed?”

“No, but I had a long talk with the photographer he was with. They were a _long_ way from where he told her he was going to be.”

“Why?”

“Wait for it ..”

“This is Danny we’re talking about. I think I’m ready for whatever you might throw at me.”

“Maybe not this .. it’s a whole new side to our Danny.”

* * *

_**CJ’s bedroom** _   
_**August 7th @ 8pm** _

Margaret popped her head round the bedroom door.

“Can I come in?”

“Hey ..”

CJ’s voice was weak but she was alert enough to be watching something on the tv screen.

“What are you watching?”

“The English Patient.”

“Really? Maybe I can get you something a little more cheery in the morning?”

“ _Margaret_ ..”

Margaret took a deep breath and turned to look at her.

“They won’t let me have a phone, they won’t let me have a computer, and I know I’m getting the reader’s digest version. I need to know how bad this can get.”

“I can bring some literature round tomorrow ..”

CJ fixed her with as withering a look as she could muster.

“ _Margaret_ , I know you know everything there is to know.” Her eyes filled with tears which she pushed back mercilessly. “I need to be ready for this.”

Margaret perched on the edge of the armchair by the bed and compressed her lips tightly before exhaling and starting to speak.

“The World Health Organization estimates that two hundred thousand people become infected each year. Most patients are asymptomatic. In those who are not, symptoms go away after about three to four days with supportive treatment. Most people recover at this stage, while others seem to get better for twenty-four hours and then .. get worse.””

“ _Like Danny?_ ”

Margaret nodded.

“Among the fifteen percent who develop serious illness, case fatality rate is .. between twenty and sixty percent.”

Margaret’s voice dropped off as CJ looked away, and after a moment she stood up and tuned off the DVD player.

“Did you bring the envelope from the office?” CJ asked, after the silence had stretched for a while.

“Yes.”

"Thank you."

After Margaret had gone, CJ toyed with the envelope.

Danny had asked her not to look at the photos, but somewhere in her head she had the idea that he looked now as he had looked then.

And she had to know. 

Had to see.

Had to find some way to feel close to him.

She slid a nail under the flap and lifted it.

These shots of Danny were nothing like the luminous shots propped up on the dresser. 

He lay on a pallet. Lethargic and pale, his hair longer and unkempt. Eyes devoid of sparkle, lips cracked and bleeding.

Surrounded by an aura of death.

Skye’s voice echoed in her head.

_“So that if I ever met you you’d be able to see what you missed.”_

She’d missed it then and she was missing it now - and the thought that he might be calling for her again was unbearable.

Every part of her ached to be near him. 

To touch him and let him know that she was with him.

The photos slipped to the ground as colour leached from her world, and she curled up into the fetal position under the weight of pain which coalesced in her chest. 

Every breath hurt - bearing down relentlessly on what might as well be a bruise on her heart.

Orlagh’s head snapped up as the music drifted through the house. 

Recognizing it immediately for what it was, she deliberated for a moment whether she should offer comfort or give CJ the space to crumble on her own terms.

The keening moans gave her the answer she needed.

She entered the bedroom slowly and found CJ facing the away from the door.

“Claudia ..”

The crying stopped, but the shoulders continued to shake.

Orlagh sat on the bed and waited for a moment before stroking CJ’s shoulder.

It wasn’t long before the silent tears escalated into sobs that made the bed shake. 

“Please hold me,” came the whisper.

Orlagh obliged - stroking CJ's hair and murmuring the occasional reassurance into the air as she let her own tears fall.

“My mother is watching over Danny,” she said as the music wound to a close after the second repeat.

“Do you know that for sure?”

“I do.”


	13. Tying Up Loose Ends

_**CJ and Danny’s Bedroom | Josh's Office** _   
_**August 11th @ 10am** _

“Erin just called to say that they’ve moved him to a private room. ”

“That’s great news.” The relief in Josh’s voice mirrored Orlagh’s. “What comes next?”

“It’s 9pm there now. Physical therapy will come by in the morning to get him up and moving.”

“Is he eating on his own yet?”

“Not yet. From what I understand they’ll slowly progress his diet once he actually _feels_ like eating again.”

“Any idea how long they’ll keep him?”

“Not really, but there is discussion about moving him to a private hospital in Nairobi in a few days.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Those air ambulances are pretty high tech.”

“What’s the outlook, long term?”

“The weakness and fatigue could last a couple of months, but he should make a full recovery.”

“How’s CJ doing?”

Orlagh looked down at the woman lying against her side.

“She’s asleep,” she replied when running her fingers over CJ’s hair didn’t elicit a response.

“You’ll keep me posted about any developments?”

“Of course, Josh. Thank you for calling. Give my love to Donna,” she added before ending the call. “ _You’re not really asleep, are you?_ ” 

“No. I just .. I can’t talk to anyone without crying. I tried with Toby yesterday, and just embarrassed us both.”

Orlagh hugged her a little tighter.

“I have a surprise for you.”

“You do?”

“Seamus overnighted something,” she said she she pulled a laptop off the nightstand. “He and Maureen went through the family albums and scanned some photos they thought you would like.”

The whir of a spinning CD filled the air, and both women smiled as a photo of young Danny appeared on the screen.

Cross-eyed and sticking his tongue out.

Orlagh moved along from one photo to the other with a soft smile on her face; occasionally stopping to explain what they were looking at.

“That’s the day Danny and Erin discovered the cats didn’t mind sharing their milk as long as they tipped all of it onto the floor. Now this one ..”

* * *

_**Danny’s room in the Hospital, Botswana** _   
_**August 12th @ 2pm local time** _

Danny opened his eyes at the sound of the door to his room opening.

“Feeling up to a visitor?” Frank Hollis asked.

“Hey ..”

“How are you feeling?”

“Drugs to calm my stomach, drugs for muscle spasms, drugs for aches and lingering fever. I’m living the dream ..”

“Sure sounds like it,” Frank said as pulled a chair up to the side of the bed. “Look, I don’t want to get into your business, but .. Hamizi told us about your little detour.”

Danny rubbed a hand over his left eye and gave a sardonic laugh.

“Yeah. It worked out really well. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Seems to me it would be a shame to go home empty-handed after all of this trouble.”

Franklin waved a hand around the room before putting it into his pocket and pulling out a small pouch.

“I’ve known Leo Schachter a long time,” he continued with a grin. “I’ve been on the _Kalahari Dream_ board for a few years. You wanted an ethical diamond, you got one. Let me know if you need someone to set it. I’ve got a guy.”

* * *

_**CJ’s Bedroom** _   
_**August 12th @ 6am local time** _

“Claudia ..” 

CJ blinked several times as she drifted into consciousness.

“Danny’s on the phone,” Orlagh said gently.

She placed it in CJ’s hand and had started to move away when she felt herself being held in place. She nodded understandingly and settled on the edge of the armchair by the bed; squeezing CJ’s hand and watching her tenderly as she reacted to hearing Danny saying her name for the first time in weeks.

“Hi. How are you feeling?”

“Like a two-ton semi rolled over me. They won't let me be on the phone long, but I wanted to hear your voice."

"Okay."

"They’re coming in to take the catheter out in a minute. Just putting you on notice that you won’t be able to have your wicked way with me when I get home. I’m going to be sore for a while.”

So typical of him to play things down.

“CJ?”

“Yeah?”

She knew he could hear the tears in her voice, despite her best efforts not to get emotional.

“You okay?” 

“Has there been an update about when they’re sending you home?” she asked instead.

“Not yet.”

She heard another voice in the background and assumed, correctly, that a nurse had entered the room.

“I have to go.”

“Okay.”

“CJ?”

“Yes?”

“Every day is one day closer to being together again.

“I know ..”

“CJ ..”

“Yes?”

There was a slight pause, as though he wanted to ask her something, but all he said was “they're taking the phone from me."

"Okay."

"I have to hang up now.”

"I know."

"CJ .. one day closer."

“You’re sure you don’t want to tell him about the baby?” Orlagh asked when the drawn out goodbyes were over.

“He’d just worry. He needs to focus on getting better.”

“You don’t think knowing would be an incentive?”

CJ’s eyes cut to hers suddenly.

“What?”

“I didn’t tell him that I love him.” 

“Oh pet,” Orlagh said as she touched her face gently. “He knows.”

* * *

_**Hollis Foundation Gulfstream, en route back to the USA** _   
_**August 18th @ 8pm local time** _

Erin dropped into the seat opposite her brother and watched as he twirled the diamond round and round in his fingers.

“So this is your life now, huh? Diamonds and private jets.”

“This is a little surreal, even for me.”

“You could get used to it though ..” she said as she held out her hand. 

“Right now I’m just happy to be alive.”

“You and me both, buddy. _This_ is a beauty,” she said as she looked at the gem in her palm. "You’re getting ready to pop the question, I take it?”

“Yup.”

“Have you got a design?”

“The start of one. Frank says he’s got a guy.”

“Of course he does,” Erin said as she handed the stone back.

“He’s a good man.”

“Yes he is. He made me a job offer while we were at the hospital.”

“He did?”

“A place on his team of corporate lawyers for acquisitions and mergers. Contract preparation and review.”

“Wow. Sounds right up your alley. Will you do it?”

“I mentioned it to Patrick.”

“And?”

“Lets just say he wasn’t averse to the idea of something new. He can work from anywhere, the kids are still young. Moving them wouldn’t be a problem. We’d lose our free babysitting, but we’d be closer to you and - “

“Erin?”

“Yes?”

“I need to ask you something.”

“Sure.”

“Is there anything you aren’t telling me?”

He watched as her shoulders tensed slightly and knew he was onto something.

“Why would you ask me that?”

“I had a dream the night they moved me from ICU.”

“Yeah?”

“I dismissed it as wishful thinking, but the first time I spoke to CJ on the phone I got a very strong feeling about it.”

“You sound like grandma.”

“Interesting that you should say that. It was grandma in the dream. _Erin_ ..”

“Yes?”

“Is CJ pregnant?”

Erin hid her face behind her hands and groaned.

“She’s gonna kill me.”

“Erin ..”

“Yes. _Oh thank God that’s off my chest_ ,” she added abruptly as she rubbed her breastbone to relieve the stress.

“Has she been sick?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe. I had morning sickness with both kids but this is all day, all night. They had to give her IV fluids, they almost took her to hospital. She's been crazy worried about you, can barely string a sentence together without falling apart. Don’t be mad at her for not telling you. She's not firing on all cylinders. Pregnancy does a number on you, as I can attest.”

“I’m not mad, just I wish I’d known ..”

She moved onto the seat next to him and hugged him.

“I think you coming home to surprise her a few days ahead of schedule will do her a world of good. But I gotta tell ya bro .. don’t be expecting a welcome home party.”

“Yeah, well, I’d have challenges of my own in that department.”

"You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t barf all over you.”

Danny turned pensive for a moment and then he said, “I need to make a call, and then you need to clue me in. Give me the f _rom-the-trenches_ perspective."

"About pregnancy?"

"Yeah. So that I don’t blunder more than I have to. How I set myself down on the bed, what’s too much, what’s too little. Stuff like that. ”

“Good to see the investigative reporter in you is alive and well.”

“Everything above the waist is in proper working order.”

“Okay, I don’t need those kind of details thank you,” Erin said with a look of mock disgust as she moved back to her own seat.

Danny laughed and picked up the satellite phone in the cabin.

He smiled when the person at the other end picked up.

“Hey Carol ..”

“Hey! Where are you?”

“We’re about ready to take off.”

“ _You’re coming home early?_ ”

“Yes.”

“Does she know?”

“No, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Okay.”

“Carol, I know about the baby.”

“O-kay.”

“I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything ..”

* * *

_**Hollis Foundation  
** _

_**A few moments later** _

“Margaret ..”

“Yes?”

“Danny called.”

“He did?”

“He knows about the baby.”

“Okay. Did he freak out?”

“He sounded okay, but he wants me to get this ..”   
  
Margaret looked at the piece of paper and ran a search for the item on her computer.

“Do you think he wants us to set it up?”

“He didn’t say, but I think so?”

“You’re going to have to distract her.”

“Won’t she see it?”

“We’ll figure it out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now all that remains is the reunion. Which is just as well, because the angst has worn me out ❤︎ I am going to need to write a few fluffy things after this ..


	14. Return from Africa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to dedicate this story to babyphd - with thanks for the messages sent throughout the writing process. They came every time I was really close to scrapping the whole thing because I couldn't articulate the thoughts in my head, or I was unsure that I'd be able to tie everything together in a cogent manner by story's end.  
> ❤︎

_**CJ and Danny’s Kitchen** _  
_**August 19th @ 7am local time** _

“Do that, and you’ll find out how hard it is to pick your teeth from the ground with your arms broken,” Orlagh said without turning around from the kitchen sink. “And I don’t care how sick you’ve been or how long you’ve been on a plane.”

“ _Busted!_ ” Erin whispered to her brother. “I don’t know why you’re still trying this after forty-odd years of failing to sneak up on her.”

“Hi mom ..”

Orlagh turned from the sink.

“Hello, my love.”

She looked him up and down before taking his face in her hands and kissing him on the forehead.

“He knows, doesn’t he?” she asked Erin over his shoulder as she hugged him. “I can feel it bubbling in him.”

Erin threw her hands up in the air and rolled her eyes.

“Grandma appeared to him a dream ..”

Orlagh looked at her son.

“What else did you get from grandma, I wonder ..”

“Do you _know_?” he asked.

“Excuse me, when did we become a family of doubting Thomases? _Yes_ , I know, and I’m not saying unless Claudia tells me she wants to know.”

“Is she awake?”

Orlagh shook her head.

“We had a bit of a rough night. You’ll know when she’s awake.” 

“You’re using a _baby monitor_?” Erin asked incredulously as she looked in the direction her mother was pointing.

“She calls when she needs me. Otherwise I’d be hovering .. and that’s no way to cultivate a relationship with your son’s significant other.”

She patted Danny’s cheek and winked at him.

“Thanks for coming to stay with her, mom.”

“I knew you’d want me here. Call and thank your dad though? Managing the kids on his own during the day has been a little .. traumatic.”

Erin guffawed in the background.

“Before I forget,” Orlagh continued. “Carol and Margaret were here last night. Carol said to tell you that one piece is behind the armchair, the other piece is in the jacket pocket of your black suit in the closet, and the other thing is in your nightstand drawer. And that you would understand what _all_ of that meant.”

“I do.”

“Good then. Would you like some coffee?”

She had just handed him a mug when a noise from the monitor made them all turn their heads in its direction.

“ _Mom .._ ”

“You’re up,” Orlagh said gleefully to Danny as she plucked the coffee from his hands and patted him on the arm.

“ _She’s calling you mom?_ ” he asked incredulously from the doorway.

“What can I say? We bonded. Be off with ya ..”

“Remember what I told you about the bed,” Erin called after him. “And no matter what she says, don’t laugh. _Resist!_ ”

* * *

_**CJ and Danny’s bedroom** _

CJ fought the nausea long enough to make it to the bathroom; feeling ridiculously proud of herself for being able to spare Orlagh the unpleasant task of cleaning out yet another plastic tub.

Stomach heaving, she just about made it to the toilet. Strands of hair slipped from her rudimentary ponytail and got in the way, but she didn’t have the energy to move them.

She became aware of her hair being pulled back from her face, but “ _thanks_ ” came out as a mumble when another bout of bile rose in her throat.

The hand rubbing gentle circles on her back felt comforting as she rested her head on her hands and waited for the next wave - but it occurred to her pretty quickly that something about the pressure was different.

Familiar and soothing in ways that spoke to her heart.

“Danny?”

“What’s goin’ on?”

He shifted position so that she could feel secure as she fell apart against him.

The sound of her sobs seemed to bounce off every surface in the bathroom and sounded impossibly loud and hysterical to her ears. 

She gasped for breath - and gagged. 

“It’s okay ..” Danny said as he kissed the top of her head and angled her back towards the toilet.

She fell back against him, exhausted, after a few moments, and he had to bury the impulse to rock her.

“You _know_ , don’t you?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“Yeah.”

“I wanted you to hear it from me,” she said tearfully.

He wanted to laugh, tell her how he’d found out and that that he was over the moon, but Erin’s cautionary “ _resist_ ” echoed in his head.

“I know ..” he said instead as he started to rub her back again.

“I think I’m done for now,” she said after a few minutes - and started to cry again when she couldn’t stand, unassisted.

“This is ridiculous,” she said through her sobs.

“It’s okay .."

“Want to know how ridiculous I’ve become?”

“Sure.”

_Was this a trap?_

“I cry about everything.”

“That’s hard to imagine.”

_Maybe he could salvage things._

“Are you mocking me?”

Danny froze.

“I’ve been told to underestimate pregnancy hormones at my peril,” he said carefully.

“I was too sick to eat, I cried. I spilled some of my water on the bed, I cried. I watched an episode of _Love it or List it_ , and I cried when they decided to list. I cried because I sneezed and it took all the energy I had left. Kristin Scott Thomas died in the film and I cried for an hour.”

“I cried for an hour, too, when Kristin Scott Thomas died,” Danny interjected. “Just .. you know .. sayin’.”

“Margaret asked me the other day if I wanted overnight diapers, and I cried.”

_It was really hard not to laugh at that one._

“What else has been making you cry?”

“If I can’t remember anything, I cry. There were no bananas left, I cried. Carol swapped _The English Patient_ out with _The Penguins of Madagascar_ and I had a meltdown. Your mother was harmonizing with Johnny Denver’s _Country Roads_ yesterday, I _ugly_ cried. You gotta know, it’s like crazy town in my head ..”

“Will you cry if I kiss you?”

“I don’t think you want to kiss me.”

“Why not?”

“It tastes awful in my mouth. I haven’t had the energy to take a shower in a few days. My hair’s manky ..”

“Okay .. so I know you’ve been bonding with my mom, and that’s great, but the word _manky_ cannot become part of your vocabulary.”

“But it’s a perfect word ..”

Erin hadn’t been exaggerating, he thought as her eyes filled with tears again.

“How about I help you shower?”

“Okay. But I need to bring a tub into the shower with me. Just in case ..”

“Hey, I see they even put a seat in there for you,” he said as he helped her up from the ground.

“That was Margaret’s idea.”

“Here’s _another_ idea,” he said as he helped her undress. “Erin says we can put some drops of peppermint oil on a washcloth and the steam from the shower will diffuse it if we leave it on the ground.”

“It’s by the nightstand.”

“Okay. You’ll be okay sitting in the shower while I get it?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll get you some fresh clothes, too, yeah?”

Danny stepped into the bedroom and made quick work of locating everything he needed.

He also retrieved the things he needed for his surprise and put them under the pillow on the bed.

“How’s she doing?” Orlagh said from the doorway.

“I’m going to help her take a shower. _Doing okay in there, CJ_?” he called.

“Yes.”

“Her voice sounds stronger already,” Orlagh noted. “I’ll change the bed sheets while you’re doing that.”

“Thanks. Can you leave the room dark?” he asked as he headed back into the bathroom.

“Sure.”

“ _Mom_ ..”

He let the unspoken question hang in the air.

“Call me when you’re ready.”

“Mmmm ..” CJ said a few minutes later as he lathered and scrubbed her scalp. “That feels so nice. Oh my God, I’m going to cry again ..”

“I have a question,” Danny asked a few moments later as he rinsed her off. “Do you want to know the baby’s sex?”

“The doctor recommended diagnostic testing based on my age. He said we could find out the sex of the baby. I think he said it could be done at the fifteen to twenty week mark?

“What if we could find out a lot sooner than that?”

“How?”

“My mother hasn’t told you about her very particular skill set yet.”

“Has she ever been wrong?”

“Nope. Six grandchildren, several nieces and nephews and their babies, children of friends. And a couple of neighbours. Her track record is pretty solid.”

“Do you _want_ to know?”

“It’s been part of our family tradition for as long as I can remember. I’d like to keep that going.”

“She already knows, doesn’t she?”

“She does, but she won’t say without your consent. She won’t even tell _me_.”

“Okay."

He towelled her off, dried her hair, helped her brush her teeth and get into fresh clothes before asking, “feeling steady enough to walk on your own?”

“I think so.”

“Hang on ..” he said when they got to the bed. “Erin says I have to sit on the bed before you.”

“They changed the sheets,” she said in wonder as she slid between them.

“Ready?” he asked when they were situated.

“Yes.”

“ _Mom_ ..” Danny called, knowing she’d hear him through the monitor.

Orlagh appeared in the doorway.

“Claudia?”

CJ wanted to answer, but found the emotion so paralyzing that she could only nod.

Orlagh looked between them and then addressed her son.

“I think you know, too. Put your hand on Claudia’s belly and focus,” she added when he looked unsure. “Humour me.”

CJ felt an intense rush of warmth as Danny placed his hand on her - and saw something on his face that she was sure nobody had seen before. 

Something which would be uniquely theirs.

“Is it a girl?” he asked his mother in wonder.

“It is ..” 

She patted Danny on the knee and smiled at CJ and turned to leave.

“Erin is chomping at the bit,” she said from the doorway. “Is it okay if I tell her?”

CJ nodded.

Orlagh tapped her fingers once on the door and closed it behind her, plunging the room into almost complete darkness.

Danny pulled CJ closer to him and kissed away her tears.

“You’re very proud of yourself, aren’t you?” she asked after a while. “You’re practically vibrating.”

“I am proud. Am I also making you nauseous?” 

“No. But ..”

“But?”

“You will remember _I’m_ here, too, right?”

 _“Resist!”_ Erin screamed in his head as he wiped away a fresh batch of tears.

“I have it on good authority that you’ll get your mojo back in the second trimester. And that we’ll have to get creative in the third.”

“Okay.”

She didn’t sound convinced.

“Until then, let me just remind you that kissing can be more intimate than sex.”

“Remind me ..”

“Okay, but first I need you to close your eyes,” he said as he reached under the pillow.

He felt her tense for a moment and then suck in a breath as familiar music filled the room.

“Open them.”

“Oh my God ..”

A projection of the Milky Way illuminated the ceiling, whisking her right back to their night under the stars, with all the inherent emotion intact.

“Still think I’m going to forget you?” he asked as he tangled his fingers in her hair and brought her mouth slowly to his.

When she was crying too hard to function, he pulled her head onto his shoulder and stroked her hair as he waited for her to settle.

After a while she took his hand and splayed it across her belly; relishing the feeling of warmth seeping through her again.

“Would you like to call her Imogen?”

Danny dropped a kiss to her head.

“I’d like that. I'd like that very much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Sega Homestar Planetarium had a disc which could project the Milky Way in 2008. I always wanted one, so now these guys got to have one!
> 
> Also, all the touchy feely empath stuff for Danny's family and CJ's symptoms and words are right out of my own life. I typically tend not to write stuff I haven't experienced, because otherwise I'd spend too much time second guessing myself and nothing would ever get posted. 
> 
> I feel like I've been writing this for months (instead of the two weeks, or whatever, that it's actually been) and it's really surreal to see how far we ended up from Skye and her particular set of challenges in the beginning of the story.
> 
> If you've stuck around this far .. THANK YOU.  
> ❤︎


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